Christmas Drabbles 2010
by Wynja
Summary: Love, hurt, fluff, angst, danger… Merry Christmas 2010! Sladin  mostly  drabbles, SLASH! 1-25th of December.
1. 01 Needs and Necessities

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own the Teen Titans, Slade, Christmas or the idea of gifts. I only combine these ingredients in the hope that some people will become happy. _This disclaimer goes for all chapters of this story._

A/N: A general note: Welcome to this year's X-mas drabbles! I will post one every day until the 25'th. You got a chance to wish for drabbles a few months ago and now you'll get to read the wishes of the lucky 25 who were the quickest to reply… I hope you will find something to your taste among them, although I might as well warn some of you now: most wished for light stories, much fluff and much fun… but it's Christmas, so we can't have too much angst anyway, can we?

**About reviews and corrections: **I'd love both, BUT I'll have no time to do corrections so don't waste your time with them… I'll try to answer reviews, but I know I'll fail miserably, so it's okay to be lazy with those too… ;)

The length vary greatly from 1-2 pages and up around… like 30… It all depends on the idea I got from the prompt…

Remember that I live in Sweden… I'll post each chapter on their assigned dates, but you may receive them early or late, depending on where YOU live… ;) And if I post them in the morning or evening… and that will vary depending on… life. ;)

**Let's get the party started!**

* * *

Wednesday 1 December

Merry Christmas** Lireach! **

This is a free-standing story, the genre is Wynja-type humor. I'll tell you Lireach's prompt word afterwards.

**

* * *

**

Needs and Necessities

It was early afternoon In Jump City and all was not well. In fact, Slade and Robin had suddenly found themselves disagreeing with each other, and, being two of the most stubborn males on earth, their discussion had now dragged on for over an hour.

They had lived together for only a week, and Robin started to wonder if it had been such a great idea to begin with. It had put a strain on his relationship with his team, even though Robin hadn't even left the Tower, but had a floor remodeled into a very nice apartment, more than big enough for the two of them.

There was something about Slade, though, which kept his team on edge. Even though the man had been a legal bounty-hunter for the past two years, not stepping out of line even once, they still hadn't warmed up to him. It might have been the shock when he and Robin had started seeing each other, outside of purely professional contexts, about six months ago. Oh, and the time the other Titans had caught them kissing just before that. Awkward didn't even begin to describe _that_.

Since living together full time, however, Robin had started to notice that the man's demands on him only seemed to grow. One of these demands was the reason of the discussion.

"Come on, Robin… you know you _want_ to…" Slade purred. His target, however, only straightened up, crossed his arms, and glared.

"That's your sex-voice, Slade. Not allowed. You're playing dirty."

"But I know you_ love_ to get a little dirty… which is why this is _perfect_ for you."

"Have someone else do it."

"Really…? Would you want someone else to touch what belongs to you?" Slade smirked.

"See if I care!" Robin hissed rather childishly and stalked away.

"Robin…" the man now growled, about to put his foot down, but, at the same time, he didn't want to stomp on a land-mine.

"No! Do it yourself! I bet you did it all the time before we met." Robin snarled.

"Oh no, those times were rare… there were lots of willing people, let me tell you…" Slade smirked. "For _you_ on the other hand…"

"Don't go there, or I might tell you something you don't want to hear." Robin warned the man darkly.

Slade eye narrowed.

"Man? Woman?"

"Both. What? I'm nineteen; don't you think I've had some experiences? And I'm not going to tell you anymore about them, so forget it." Robin snorted.

"Any of the Titans?"

"We were five _teens_ living together… sure we helped each other out." Robin smirked at the man. "That's what friends do."

"It doesn't bother me who took care of your needs in the past. " Slade growled. "The point is, you should take care of _mine now_."

"And why is that? I don't _mind_ it, Slade, but I don't want you to _expect_ it from me!"

"And why not? I work all day, is it too much to ask for you to-"

"_YOU WORK ALL DAY?"_

'Bang' went the land mine.

"That came out wrong-" Slade tried to piece things together.

"You _THINK_? I work _around the clock_, protecting this city! You take on _assignments_, for god's sake, and you are damn picky about them too!" Robin full-out roared.

"Just because I didn't have time to track that dealer-" Slade was getting defensive again, which was a bad move.

"No _time_? His hideout was in the _swamp_, _that's_ why you didn't take it." Robin claimed.

"I have better things to do than to get soaked and eaten by mosquitoes for a week." Slade muttered. "And the other job paid better."

"Yeah. The other job. In _Vegas_." Robin muttered bitterly.

"I asked if you wanted to come-"

"Hello? City?" Robin gestured to the window in general.

"Hello? Team?" Slade smirked.

Robin blinked and then chuckled at the way the man had pointed out his immature way to argue. He had started using the debating technique of a much younger teenager, and hadn't even noticed.

"Okay… okay… this isn't about who works more and with what. This is a relationship, not a competition." Robin sighed.

"Someone has been watching Dr Phil again." Slade chuckled, and got a glare in reply. "Fine, fine, you make a good point."

"Then do you agree that we are in a relationship? That we should treat each other as equals?" Robin asked carefully.

"Yes. Of course. I'm out of practice." Slade admitted, somewhat reluctantly. "I apologize."

"Good. Thank you. Accepted." Robin nodded.

"And what about my little problem?" the man asked hopefully.

The Titan's alarm chose that moment to go off, and Robin hurriedly grabbed his belt.

"We'll talk more tonight!" he promised, heading for the door. Just before he opened it, he glanced over his shoulder. "And until then, Slade… do your own damn laundry."

_The End_

****

**

* * *

**

A/N **Lireach** asked for Slade/Robin, prompt word/sentence: Sex voice. The other comments were that there should be no non-con, but dub -con might work… In a way, this IS dub-con, right? Maybe even non-con (oops!) but not in the usual way… -grin-

I could have taken this in a million different directions, it was a VERY good prompt, but, somehow, I started thinking "domestic dispute" and I couldn't let the joke go after that, so… short, but, hopefully it got a giggle? See you tomorrow!


	2. 02 Toys aren't Us

**Thursday 2 December**

Merry Christmas** yaoigurl12**! I hope you like this, and I hope you'll LOVE the title… I changed the prompt just a LITTLE bit to fit it into the conversation…; )

**Black Sheep **Universe, taking place two weeks after Black Sheep 2 ended. There will be **three** Black Sheep stories, including this, and they will all take place after Black Sheep 2, leading up to the third installment…

**

* * *

**

Toys aren't Us

"What's this?" Robin grinned up at Slade as the man handed him a wrapped gift.

"Just something to make you feel better…" the man smirked down at the teen sitting on the bed in their room.

"I've been declared healthy for two weeks…" Robin pointed out, his hand unconsciously touching the scar across his throat. It was healing well, but he didn't think he would ever feel anything but unease about it; it would never turn into some sort of twisted souvenir.

"Well, then, let's celebrate our last night in Gotham…" Slade suggested. "And let's be really, really loud about it."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you? Maybe I won't take you back to Jump…" Robin warned him.

"Who's taking who back?"

"Well, since it's _my_ city…" Robin smirked.

"Open the gift." the man growled in a tone which told Robin that Slade knew he had lost this round. The teen grinned victoriously and ripped the paper.

"Wha…?" the lid was off and Robin found himself staring at something large, pink and knobbly which obviously ran on batteries.

"I thought we'd start rebuilding our little mystery bag… I fear it was lost."

The H.I.V.E academy had been rather trashed, both from the fire after the explosion and from the fights breaking out afterwards, so Robin wasn't surprised. He _was_ surprised, however, at one fact.

"You thought I _wanted_ the bag back?"

"Why not? You like it… some of it… and isn't it fun to play?"

"This-" Robin said, shaking the pink aberration in the man's face, "tells me just two things… firstly: what? Can't pleasure me yourself, so you need a toy to do it? And secondly: If I'm boring you in bed, just fuck off!" With that Robin jumped off the bed and stormed out of the room. The black clouds around his head hadn't even begun to dissipate when he ran into Bruce.

"Trouble?" the man asked.

"Slade's an ass!" Robin hissed.

"Old news." The millionaire grinned. "I am willing to forgo certain principles of mine, and will gladly hold him down while you beat the crap out of him." the man offered.

"What did my father do now?" Rose asked from down the hall.

"Oh, nothing… just told me I'm a lousy lay." Robin growled and pushed past them both.

* * *

Bruce's face shifted from red to white and back to red again. Rose put a hand on his arm.

"Honey? Let me talk to my father before you kill him, all right?"

"He… the bastard actually…?" Bruce snarled, his hands flexing.

"We don't _know_ that; Robin was upset… I'll talk to dad." Rose tried again. "Give me a moment, okay?"

"You have just long enough to make sure you're in his will." Bruce snapped and turned on the spot, going to hunt down something else to punch while waiting for Slade to be available.

* * *

Rose took only a few steps before running into a hurrying Slade.

"Did Robin come through here?"

"Dad, what did you_ do_?" Rose frowned up at him.

"Beats me." the man snorted. "I'm hoping to find out."

"Yes, well, for you to be roaming the halls isn't exactly healthy right now. For all I know, Alfred might soon come around the corner with a shot-gun. Let's figure out what you did first, shall we?" the woman decided and pulled the man into a guest room.

"Why do you think _I_ did something wrong?" Slade objected, crossing his arms as he glared down at his out-of-line daughter.

"Because Robin just ran by saying you told him that he was bad in bed." The woman said levelly. "Now, I don't know much about male-male relationships, but I figure that is _not_ a compliment!"

"I never said that!" Slade snorted. "If anything he's amazingly-"

"Stop! Don't wanna have the reverse 'talk' with my father!" Rose whimpered and put her hands over her ears.

"And then how will you help me figure out where I went wrong?" Slade muttered.

"You _want_ help?" Rose asked, knowing her father well enough to hear the faint plea in his voice.

"Yes, well, my- _Robin_ is obviously somewhat insane… just point me in the right direction." The mercenary told her gruffly.

"Very well." Rose smirked, looking quite like her daddy when she did. "Tell me what happened."

* * *

A few minute later Rose's cheeks were a bit flushed, but that started to fade as she stared at her father in disbelief.

"I can't believe you did that."

"What? What's wrong with toys?" Slade threw his arms out in an aggravated gesture.

"Nothing! But judging by what Robin said, he doesn't like them very much."

"He always does in the end." The man muttered.

"Has he ever asked for them?"

"No." the man admitted.

"Then why? I mean if you don't really think he's boring…"

"I don't! I just-" Slade suddenly straightened up and stared at thin air for a moment. "Damn." he swore.

"Did something just occur to you?" Rose asked snidely.

"Yes."

"Then go fix it. And if you see Bruce, run for your life." Rose advised.

* * *

It took the man two hours to find his little bird, and, to his surprise, he finally spotted Robin in a tree in the garden.

"Come down. I need to talk to you." Slade told the teen firmly.

"Really? I'm _good_ enough for that? How nice." Robin snarled.

Slade sighed. This was going to be rough.

"I did not mean to insult you, Robin… that toy, it… it wasn't because of you."

"Oh. I see. I guess you just can't get hard enough to fuck me, so you have to buy some time pushing other things up my ass, right? I'm not doing it for you anymore?"

"I just want to shake you out of that tree…" Slade growled.

"Why? For conversation?" Robin snorted.

The tree shuddered from the force of Slade's fist hitting it. Then a deep breath was heard.

"Okay. Listen. This isn't easy for me to say…" the man started.

"Isn't it? I mean 'it's over' isn't that difficult to pronounce, is it? I'm gonna tell Bruce to 'release the hounds' soon, and that's somewhat harder. Oh, and you might want to climb the wall and get out of here before I do." Robin suggested sweetly.

"Shut up or I'm going to come up there and make you." the man snarled. "The thing is… I didn't bring in the toys because you were boring… I was… I was afraid that _I _was."

"What?" the bird in the tree gaped.

"I'm your first, well apart from that pirate-kid, and I thought that sooner or later you'd get bored with only bottoming. I want to be generous towards you, but ... I can't bottom for you, Robin, at least not yet… I tried to think up other things, new things to try, to keep you interested. I didn't really realize this until a few hours ago, but none of those toys really were for you… they were for _me_… because I was afraid to lose you to some pretty, cocky little thing down the line… and in that school you were _surrounded_ by them… flirting with you…" the man's voice died down into a threatening growl, and Robin was glad neither Flame nor Shift were anywhere near at the moment… but that was not the thing he was most glad about.

"Idiot." he mumbled, looking down at the mercenary. Slade looked up at him with a question in his eye. Robin sighed and rolled his. "What was the _first _thing I told you after you got that bag?" Robin asked.

"Can't remember, sorry…" Slade shrugged.

"I said that I just need _you_." Robin smiled a little. "It was true then and it's true now. Just you." He let himself slide off the branch and landed in the man's arms. "Now make it up to me."

"I will." Slade smirked.

"Using _only_ your natural resources." Robin warned him.

"Don't worry. I'll use every one of them..." the man purred and started to carry his catch back towards the mansion.

"Good." Robin nodded, and then smirked a bit teasingly. "This, of course, doesn't mean that you can't tie me up just_ once_ in a while..."

_The End_

* * *

A/N; *grin* sorry **yaoigurl12**, I know you said "noooo bondage" but I just couldn't resist throwing it in there at the end… don't hate me?

The prompt was: "What? Can't pleasure me yourself, so you need a toy to do it?"

**yaoigurl12 **did NOT like the 'mystery bag' in Black Sheep 2 (seriously… I think she hated it more than she did Brother Blood… that bag was the REAL villain of the story… ;) ), and I think I finally found Slade an excuse for it… is he forgiven?

Sorry there was no graphic slash, it just seemed forced to add that to the end… you have to picture it… come on… I know you can! Just close your eyes… ;)


	3. 03 Angelic Lust

Friday 3 December

Merry Christmas** Cosplayer364!**

This short but sweet little drabble is from the **Circus Freak** universe...

So that means that the pairing is Slade/Robin/Red X and that Robin is a cat-boy (neko; cat ears and tail + some cat-like characteristics.)

Oh, and thank you all so much for the revs! I'm SO sorry that I don't have time to answer many of them, but they make me smile, laugh and shake my head. Some of you are quite pervy. You know who you are. Love you!

**

* * *

**

Angelic Lust

A mighty crash sounded through the lair, making Red X jump and Slade… well, not jump, since he wouldn't_ do_ such a thing, but rather raise his head in a jerky motion.

"Not again?" the mercenary growled, and stalked through the compound with the thief hot on his heels, until they reached a room Robin had christened the 'living room'. The room had earned the title mostly because it held an old, moldy sofa no one had had the energy to throw away. Otherwise it was normally pretty empty, but recently something had been added to it. That something was now lying across more than half the room, and had a wildly flailing cat-boy under it; a Christmas tree.

"Never learn, Robin, do you?" the man muttered and lifted the tree with one hand; just enough so Robin could crawl out.

"The angel is a decoration, kitten, not a _toy_!" Red X waved his finger at the dark-haired teen, whose pointed ears were laying flat against his head while his tail was thrashing behind him.

"It has feathers!" Robin wailed. "You know I love feathers!"

"Still, this is the tenth time you have knocked the tree down, trying to climb it." Slade said tiredly. It had been funny the first time, and maybe the second, but now the man wondered if cats should be leashed.

"Yeah, and the one time it kept standing, you were too afraid to come down." Red chipped in.

"Stupid… so damn pretty… smells good…" Robin muttered. He had turned his back on his mates and started to creep towards the top of the tree, which Slade had put down after the heroic rescue.

"Don't even think about it!" the thief yelled and tackled Robin, sending them both deep into the prickly branches.

"Mmmfffm!" Robin growled.

"Spit it out! Now! Let go!" Red growled back.

* * *

Slade stood watching his two younger lovers, the dark-haired one with his mouth full of feathers, and sighed. Some days he just wanted to turn himself in and confess to anything he could think of, to get some peace and quiet.

* * *

Red eventually rescued the angel, which looked somewhat worse for wear, and held Robin while the man got the tree standing again. The teen had by then calmed down, and now he managed to look a bit ashamed of himself.

"It was you who insisted on Christmas-decorations, Robin." Slade said, coming to stand in front of the teen, looking very stern. "And this early too. You are lucky you live with criminals, because this_ is_ almost a crime."

"… sorry…." Robin mumbled and butted his head against the man's chest.

"If you can't handle it, we'll throw it all away." The man threatened.

"No! No, please! It's so pretty!" Robin said, looking up with huge eyes. "I'll be good!"

Slade looked around. His dark lair didn't look very 'pretty', it mostly glittered and shone. Slade hoped that no other villains would ever find this out, because he would never be able to live it down. He had allowed it, though, for Robin's sake. It was his first Christmas away from the Titans, and he needed some distractions. Maybe just not this kind.

"Slade, maybe we should… you know…. The present?" Red X suggested.

"What present?" Robin perked up.

"I don't know. It would be rewarding bad behavior." the man said, watching as Robin's ears fell again.

"On the other hand, it might give us fewer heart attacks…" Red argued. "Come on! It's only like… twenty-two days left to Christmas…" he continued, not looking like he really believed that last argument himself.

"Alright then." the man gave in. After looking through the pile of presents which had already started collecting on the floor, he found the one Red had meant and gave it to Robin. The teen tore into it, claws and all, and gasped as the box opened.

"My… my _own_?"

"Yes, I kinda thought you would like the angel, so I got two." The thief grinned, getting a big hug from the other teen, who was clutching the angel hard. Slade got hug number two.

"Maybe this will stop you from climbing the tree?" Slade chuckled.

"Yes Sir!" Robin grinned and then started rubbing his cheek against the man's arm. "Hey, are you two… busy?" he purred.

Of course they weren't. Not_ that_ busy.

* * *

Red hadn't really come back from the afterglow when there was another crash. Again they found the cat-boy half crushed by the tree, now clutching both angels.

"Mine got lonely…" Robin claimed, blinking up at them.

"I think Robin deserves another present." Slade sighed. "How about the bondage-gear?"

The End

* * *

A/N: the prompt word for this was "Christmas tree", and the story was based upon my own cats and their strange obsession with various things… ;) Oh, and don't despair, smex WILL appear! Tomorrow, in fact... ;)


	4. 04 Is There a PetTrainer in the House?

**Saturday 4 December**

Merry Christmas** Kawaii-kuro!**

_A/N:_ This is a direct continuation of **"Is there a vet in the house?**", drabble number 38 in "Delightful Drabbles". This evolved into the Titan's Tails-comics on DA, and this drabble has elements from those comics, although it doesn't stay true to them. You DON'T have to read the comics to understand this, but you might want to refresh your memory of the original story, though, or make do with the short version below:

Slade has been stupid and tried and on-line flexibility/strength drug, which he tests on Red X. When the thief disappears from his cell, Slade deduces that it has worked and gives a dose to Robin, who is currently his prisoner/apprentice. Both Robin and Red _does_ gain flexibility and strength but also cat-ears, tails and claws… and their intelligence is… somewhat more like a cat's as well… Anyway, curious and affectionate the cat-boys are, and they love to sleep in Slade's bed, to the man's irritation. One night Slade is woken up by whispered conversation and… a problem in his nether regions. A problem the kittens have discovered as well, and are quite eager to figure out… Slade manages to pretend to sleep through the whole thing, which is… well, amazing, really… It is obvious that Robin has a huge crush on the man. Red loves Slade too, but chicken will always come first with the red-head…

Anyway, this is the second part, starting the very next morning (smut warning!):

**

* * *

**

Is There a Pet-Trainer in the House?

Slade woke up later than usual, feeling more than happy with the world in general. That was, come to think of it, rather unusual as well.

As he slowly opened his eye, he was met by two pairs of big, bright ones.

"He's awake!" Red, as so often, liked to declare the obvious.

"Good morning!" Robin sounded somewhat breathless, and his cheeks had the cutest pink tint to them. It was obvious that he was thinking of the mischief he and the tabby had been up to the night before.

"Get off the bed." Slade grunted, happiness aside. What had happened last night would _not_ be repeated. He had come to his senses. They were teenagers, and it was _his_ drug that had made them this way, so falling for his desires would be no better than rape. Slade had some standards.

_Unfortunately…_ a little, evil voice chuckled in his head.

He hurried out of bed, not minding the mewls of protest coming from a pile next to him, and quickly entered the shower. This was his haven. None of the cats liked water much, not, at least, the _getting wet_ part. As soon as they were soaked, they could play in there for hours, doing God knew what, but there was always a struggle getting them there. That's why he knew that he was safe, and besides, he needed a lot of cold showers these days.

As he stood under the spray of water, he tried to reel his mind in, rebuilding the walls of restraint and self control. He would not touch them. Even if they wanted to, they were too young for him, at least they_ looked_ too young with those big eyes, and, especially in Robin's case, they were much too naïve due to the experimental drug.

It was Robin, though, that was the star in the naughty thoughts Slade had, and it was getting harder and harder, in _every_ way, not to at least _touch_. Slade's hand made it down to his cock, and he started stroking it. This was another thing showers were good for, especially since the cold water seemed to have lost some of its effectiveness lately. It was effective and quick, and the man bit back a moan as he came, one hand on the tiled wall for support.

"Wow, you made it explode too!"

Slade turned his head around with a force that might have caused whiplash. Standing there, very naked and very curious, was Robin.

"What… are you doing in here?" Slade spluttered. He decided to pretend that he hadn't heard Robin's comment. He _really_ didn't want to ask him to explain it.

The black cat bit his lip, tail swishing uncertainly.

"I thought… maybe if I took more showers, you'd like me better?"

"Get out."

"But-?"

"GET OUT!"

Robin fled.

Slade cursed and punched a wall, cracking a tile. He _never_ lost his composure, _ever_. He needed to be firm with these two, however. There was a small tingle at the word 'firm' but Slade quickly subdued it. It was time to lay down the law.

* * *

"Robin, Red, come with me." he said, as he spotted the kittens on the bed, Robin snuggled up so close to the ginger tabby that they looked like one being. Slade, in only a towel, led them to the kitchen-area of the lair and started to prepare breakfast.

"Sit." he said, and the cat-boys immediately sank down on the floor. Slade noticed Red, not so inconspicuously, trying to sneak a peek under his towel, while Robin stared at the floor, bottom lip protruding slightly. "On the chairs." the mercenary clarified, and the teens obeyed at once.

"There will be no more sneaking into showers." Slade started, watching as Robin shrunk. "No more running around without clothes." He added, looking pointedly at their naked bodies. "No more snuggling, and no more sleeping in my bed."

"What?" Red gaped, clearly aghast.

"I mean it." Slade said cruelly. "Not even when you've become scared after watching 'Tom and Jerry', so stay away from the cartoon-channels!"

Robin didn't say anything, but his eyes were huge, wet and he made a little whimpering noise which could break anybody's heart. Fortunately Slade's heart was wearing a cuteness-proof vest.

"I'm serious. Do you understand?" Slade used every ounce of dominance he could muster, and that was enough to make a solar-system cover. It worked on cats too, if only barely.

"Yes, Sir." Red muttered.

"Robin?" Slade turned to the smaller one.

The black ears were lowered so much that they almost touched his cheeks. He looked pitiful, but the cuteness-proof vest worked on that too.

"… yes…" Robin whispered.

"Good." Slade nodded, ready to lighten the mood. "And what would you like for breakfast?"

"Chicken." Red answered immediately. He was never one to take set-backs very hard, and Slade had a feeling that he had forgotten about his rules already.

"What kind of a breakfast is that?" Slade snorted, pulling out bread and cheese.

"It counts if you drink orange-juice!" the tabby claimed. "Robin wants cream, though, don't you kitten? Salty cream?" he added with a little leer.

"I'll _never have salty cream again_, will I?" the black cat-boy suddenly exploded and dashed out of the room.

"What was that about?" Red blinked. "Well, anyway… where's my chicken, Wade?"

"It's Slade." the man muttered. At least it was a male name, he figured, and they sounded alike. There was a time when he had been known around the compound as 'the help' or 'Sally'.

* * *

The most Slade saw of Robin the following days was a black tail dashing out of sight around a corner as he entered a room. Red X was around, but had taken to completely ignoring him. It should really feel like a vacation, Slade figured, but the result was rather a vague unease. He wondered if this was what guilt felt like.

He started to understand that he would have to try to patch things up with the kitten, as it was clear that Robin's otherwise fluttering mind would not let this thing go. There was always the risk that he would leave, and if the Titans found him, there would be hell to pay. As it was, he was sending them fake messages from Robin's communicator, via a link in Gotham, telling them that he was on a secret mission with Batman. One short message every few days seemed enough. Slade was pretty sure that the Bat wouldn't check in, because he very rarely did, and if so, he would probably try Robin's communicator first. If Robin was found, however… well, even the Titans would be able to figure out who was behind it, and the boy might even be able to lead them to him… it wasn't that he feared the young heroes, absolutely not. It was the fact that Robin was the way he was because of a botched up experiment. Slade simply wouldn't be able to live with the shame.

So far the Titan had made no attempts to escape, however, not even when Red X ventured outside, but how long would that last when Robin was pissed off?

The man gathered everything he would need, which included patience, courage, a few encouraging words and a pitcher of cream, and went in search of the elusive lad.

He finally found him in the boy's own little room.

"Hello Robin." The man said, trying to use his nice voice.

The teen, who had been napping, sat up, startled, and stared at the man with his wide, blue eyes. His body, made somewhat smaller by the transformation, looked almost tiny now as the young man was dressed in what Slade recognized as one of his own t-shirts. The sleeves reached the boy's elbows and the hem came down to the middle of his thighs.

"H-hello…" those ears were very low again, shivering slightly. "Did… did I do something bad again?"

"No." Slade said and sat down on the bed next to Robin, who shied away a little. "You are a very good boy, Robin… I was a bit harsh the other day. I want you to know that I'm not angry with you."

"You… you're not?"

"No."

"But I… we… I did something really bad!" Robin admitted, tears making the blue orbs shimmer.

Slade, who knew very well what the boy meant and did not want him to confess, hurriedly cut him off.

"Well, did someone get hurt?"

"N-no… I don't think so… the same thing happened to me, and it didn't hurt at _all_…" the black cat told him, regaining a little confidence in his voice.

"Well, then it couldn't be that bad!" Slade told him.

"No, but… but you woke up all angry, and I thought…"

"I was angry, Robin, because you walked into the shower without knocking."

"It… it wasn't because you made it explode?" the teen frowned.

Slade took a breath to try to ignore the blush which was trying to make it to his cheeks.

"No… What I did was something very private, Robin… something I didn't want anyone to see."

"Why? I could help-?"

"No, you-"

"Can too! I did it before!" Robin yelled, and the cat, as it were, was out of the bag.

Slade closed his eyes momentarily, while Robin started spluttering, his tail poofed out to the max.

"I… I… I…"

"Don't worry. I know." Slade told him as he didn't want to be in a small room with a human-sized cat who was having a panic-attack.

"You… you _know_?" Robin asked, his tail now a little bit more back to its original thickness.

"Yes." The man admitted, wondering what the quickest way would be to drop the subject. "Cream?" he offered, but the teen didn't as much as glance at the pitcher.

"We made you explode…" It seemed the kitten was trying to analyze the situation, Slade thought, but the likelihood that he would reach any conclusions using a cat-brain was rather slim. "And you didn't shout…" Robin continued, frowning a little. Then his eyes lit up, and Slade had time to think something along the lines of 'uh-oh' before he found himself with a lap full of cat. "So you liked it!" Amazingly enough, Robin had managed to come up with a valid assumption, and he was also right.

"Rob-pfft-in, you-umm-" Slade found it hard to talk with someone licking his lips.

Robin sat back a little purring loudly and eyes shining.

"You liked it! I'll do it all the time!"

"No, Robin, you-" Slade tried to get up, but for the first time, he got a demonstration of the fact that the drug transforming Robin didn't only give him added agility, but also strength. He was pushed back on the bed and his shirt ripped off, before he could as much as blink.

"Robin!" he tried to force every ounce of authority into his voice, but the cat acted like he was deaf.

"You liked it!" he repeated, almost feverishly. "And… ohhhh… oh, you are liking this too?" Robin, straddling Slade's groin, was grinding himself against it, and, Slade had to admit, something has certainly become interested. "That's what it means, right? When it gets all hard?"

"Yes, but-"

"Mine's all hard too!" Robin declared proudly and lifted the hem of his t-shirt up. He wore nothing underneath. "Red dared me to touch it, you know…" the kitten said, obviously trying to point out that what had happened the other night was not all his fault. The blue eyes suddenly became hooded. "I dare you…" the teen purred.

"I don't think-"

"I _daaaare_ you…_ I_ dared…" Robin said, not-so-subtly pointing out that Slade would be a wuss if he didn't. "It's not dangerous…" the cat added with a little coo, before leaning down to lick as Slade's lips again. "Please don't be scared?"

Slade had a limit and it had just been reached. The urge to show this little minx his place took over, and the man grabbed the cat-boy by his neck, rendering him limp, before turning over so that Robin was beneath him, the way he was _supposed_ to be.

The man crashed his lips against the kitten's, teaching him what it meant to be really kissing, and after a few surprised sounds came a pleased mewl, followed by Robin trying to copy his moves. Slade slowly let the cat's neck go, but still held on firmly to the hair at the back of the teen's head, making sure he stayed put. Robin, however, didn't seem even slightly inclined to move away.

The kissing, which still included a lot of licks and nips from the teen's side, came to a temporary halt as they both needed to breathe properly.

"Slade?" the kitten said in a slightly quivering voice. "Can we… can we be naked together?"

With his libido barging through all of Slade's former restraints and morals, the man could see nothing wrong with that request and sat up enough to pull the cat-boy's t-shirt off. Maybe, a hazy part of his mind thought, Robin gave off some kinds of pheromones when sexually excited… he had, after all, just laid there the other night as well, despite knowing it was wrong, and now… now he didn't _care _that it was.

The teen under him made a needy little sound and started scratching at his shirt, leaving it in tatters.

"Bad cat! You know how to work buttons…" Slade growled playfully.

"Forgot!" Robin claimed, his eyes containing a year's supply of innocence and honesty.

"Then I suppose you won't get my trousers open, because I warn you; do _not_ use your claws there…" Slade said.

The cat-boy he straddled pawed unhappily at Slade's crotch while the man shrugged the remains of his shirt off.

"Help me!" the teen demanded, ears flattened in defeat.

"You want it that bad?" the man smirked getting only a frustrated hiss in reply, and the efforts to get into his pants only intensified, until, finally, Robin seemed to remember how the long metal thing in the seam worked, and the trousers were unzipped.

"Good boy… let me reward you…" Slade said and kissed Robin's right nipple.

"OOH!"

"If you make that much noise for so little…" Slade purred, "just you wait…" The man focused on the teen's chest for a while and mewls and gasps echoed in the room and probably the whole compound. Robin's stomach also seemed unusually sensitive. Slade had to grab the teen's wrists and hold them down at his side so he wouldn't be scratched to death in pure bliss.

The man took his time, enjoying handling Robin's body almost as much as the teen enjoyed being handled. After some time, however, he was low enough for the real prize, which was weeping heavily by now. He licked the tip and the teen howled.

"You gonna fuck him or kill him?" a voice asked from the doorway.

"Red! Red he's amazing!" Robin groaned. He didn't seem embarrassed, but rather proud and eager to share this moment with more people. Slade, however, preferred not to have an audience.

"You gonna knock him up?" the ginger tabby asked, studying them both curiously.

"Please? I wanna have your babies!" Robin appeared to like that idea.

"Only women become pregnant, Robin. You're a boy, not a girl." Slade tried to explain.

"Oh…I'll be a girl for _you_, though?" the blue eyes looked pleading.

"Damn straight you will…" Slade leered. "Red, go buy some KFC."

"They want the money-things…" Red muttered. "They get all cranky when you just leave…"

"Here…" Slade reached into his pants, which where hanging half way down his hips by now, and withdrew his wallet. "Here. Take it. Stay out for an hour or two."

"I'm the king of chicken!" the redhead exclaimed and prepared to leave, only to pause for a moment. "Hey, Robin? Let him do this lots, okay?"

"Okay." Robin promised breathlessly.

* * *

Once the chicken-lover was off on his own adventure, Slade returned to the task at hand… or rather, mouth.

His lips discovered the teen's slim length while his fingers first massaged Robin's balls and then made their way lower. He pushed slightly at the entrance to test it, though his finger was still dry. Unexpectedly, though, it slipped right inside into a wet, tight heat. Slade withdrew it quickly, trying not to make a face as he glanced down at it, but instead of the filthy mess he was afraid to find, his finger was covered in a clear, thick, slippery fluid. Slade hesitantly brought it to his nose, but it had no odor.

Robin had noticed by now and was squirming and blushing.

"I… I always get all wet down there when you are close…" he murmured. "Is that… is that bad?"

"Heh… no… far from it…" the man leered and pushed his fingers back in. If he had been in his right mind he might find this biological change interesting and researched it, but he was way too horny to even think beyond the fact that it was very practical at the moment. The noises the teen made now was close to deafening, but none of them seemed to be out of pain or even discomfort. Slade tried to push another finger in, and even though it was tight, the teen's body yielded quite easily.

"Please… your… your thing… I want…"

"You know what it's called Robin... _cock_." Slade, the educator, told him with a smirk. "What did you want?"

"Your cock! I want your cock! Please! Please put it inside me? _Now_!" What started out pleading ended up as a more cat-like demand. "It's mine!" Robin added haughtily.

"Don't worry… you'll get as much of it as you can take…" Slade told him in a muttered growl as he moved into a better position.

* * *

Eight deep gashes appeared on his shoulders as Slade hadn't remembered to protect himself from the kitten's claws as he pushed in. Robin seemed to mean the clawing to be inspirational more than discouraging, though, so Slade only caught the wrists again and continued.

Robin, left to encourage his lover with only his voice, did that loudly and clearly, without complaining even once. Slade felt the teen's legs close around him, hugging him so close it was almost painful.

"Oh, this… this is… it's the best feeling _ever_!" the cat-boy declared. "Never stop this!"

Slade chuckled.

"I'm not a machine, Robin… sooner or later, we both have to stop."

"No!" the teen objected.

Slade kissed him to sooth the hiss, and, to try to exceed Robin's expectations, Slade began to thrust faster and harder. Robin approved.

Before he lost a rib to the clenching legs around him, Slade decided to change positions. He did so quickly, withdrawing, rolling the teen over and pushing back in, before Robin had time to complain about the lack of cock filling him. Slade now had to deal with a whipping tail, but at least he was out of reach of claws and legs.

The teen had adapted to the hands and knees position splendidly, and seemed to actually enjoy this even more. Little, short, breathless whines told the man that Robin was very close.

"Bite… me…" the cat-boy groaned.

"What?" Slade asked carefully, pausing slightly, which wasn't appreciated.

"Bite me! Bite my neck!" The teen snarled.

"But… why-?" the man started.

"Don't know! Just _do_ it!" Robin cut him off in frustration. "And fuck me harder!"

Slade found himself obeying his partner, and, at the moment he did, he found yet another secret of Robin's body. The bite worked something like grabbing his neck did, but instead of going completely lax, Robin merely stilled, and the muscles around the man's cock began convulsing. The man had never felt anything like it, and growled, biting the skin harder, while thrusting like a jackhammer.

Robin had called it an explosion, but Slade felt like he was in the middle of a super-nova. Robin howled under him and when the man reached for the teen's cock it was already too late, it had 'exploded' all over the sheets. They sank down completely on the bed.

"Wet…" Robin whined and rolled over on top of Slade instead. "Better…" he mumbled.

Slade just murmured something in agreement. He wondered if it was possible to come too hard… maybe he would find his balls the size of grapes now, completely spent? No matter, it had been worth it.

"I can play with your cock any time, right?" Robin asked above him. The teen had started purring as soon as he gotten a bit of his breath back.

"Well-"

"It's mine! You're mine!" the tip of Robin's claws dug into his chest. "Oh… and Red's… I guess you can fuck him too."  
Slade again made an indistinguishable sound, too tired to argue.

"But… you know… _he_ has _chicken_…" Robin continued, uncertainly.

"M-hm…" Slade sort of agreed.

"Maybe if I _don't_ have chicken…?" Robin tried. "D'you think I could have you? Only me? Not him?"

"Yes. Sounds fair." Slade smirked, and Robin got up on his feet.

"I'm gonna go ask!" he said, beaming.

"Robin… don't you think you should ask _me_?" Slade pointed out.

The teen turned in the door and looked at him curiously.

"No? Why?" he said and left.

Slade stared up at the ceiling and got a nagging feeling that it was true that cats were never owned, but rather the other way around…

_The End_

* * *

A/N: This story didn't have a prompt, only the wish for this universe or a story where Robin initiates, and this turned out a bit of a mix… ; ) No need to complain about OOC-ness, because that's what makes the story… -lol- Hoped you enjoyed the smexiness, you were desparing there for a while, huh? Thought NO christmas-drabbles would be graphic? Well, some will, some won't... ;)


	5. 05 2060 – A Different Take

**Sunday 5 December**

Merry Christmas** Haljaruna!**

Well, boys and girls,** Haljaruna **asked for something rather tricky…

This is the **2060**-universe BUT since she asked for this particular pairing it had to change quite a lot, or things would just get nasty and weird. I might just as well tell you from the start that the pairing she asked for was a threesome between Slade, Robin and the ORIGINAL William Wintergreen. Now do you see why the story had to change? ;) Since Wintergreen is immortal he never had wife and children, though, so no other Wintergreens around, sorry… you'll get your William JR kicks in a later story… ;) So, a lot is different, but some of the basics are the same… I did change the appearances of the men somewhat... nothing huge. I shaved them. No, their faces, perverts! Damn, it's about to become kinky enough… ; ) You don't have to too afraid, I don't think…

**Warnings:** dark-ish, threesome, serious dub-con… more like non-con… but I'm still calling it dub-con… ;)

**

* * *

**

2060 – A Different Take

"He's very pretty…" one of the white-haired men said to the other.

"Oh, I know… Would I put him in this little display cabinet if he wasn't?" the other one replied with a smug smirk.

"Stop dreaming, boys, and try for something in your own league… like a month old road kill." Robin snorted and flipped them off through the glass.

"Would you mind sharing him?" the first man asked, ignoring Robin's insult.

"Of course not. I share everything with my brother in arms, you know that." the second man said and gave the first a smile before his single eye returned to Robin, studying him almost hungrily. The teen shivered and drew back, hugging his own arms to ward off the uneasiness. He managed to give the man a glare, though, before turning his back to him.

* * *

He had woken up almost two weeks ago, and Slade had been standing over him, telling him about his situation and thereby gleefully ripping his world apart. Since then he had been locked up, ignored or leered at, left at the hands of a robot which only helped Robin embarrass himself further.

He had seen few other people, apart from another bastard: William Wintergreen, who, apparently had been a close friend to Slade back in the day. So close that the mercenary offered him the drug that had made him immortal, as soon as he had recreated a safer version of it.

That meant the world now had two white haired, ruthless immortals, who ruled the planet together, with, as far as Robin knew, perfect control. Their faces were ageless, clean shaven and hard, just like their eyes; Slade's single grey and William's light green. Their bodies seemed to be in perfect condition, although their body-types were different; Slade was somewhat taller and much bulkier, where William had a leaner, wiry strength about him.

When it came to personalities, William was more willing to compromise and strike deals, but not much. He _did_ manage to hold Slade back sometimes, though, it seemed, and Robin had already figured out that they complimented each other perfectly… which was bad, because he had also understood that he had been woken up, _rescued_, to become the men's plaything.

* * *

So far there had been only hints and looks. Apart from when he woke up, none of them had as much as entered the glass cage. He had been given a regular mattress this morning, however, and there had been mentions of 'christening' it.

Robin's heart started to beat faster as he remembered this, and he walked towards the windows, staring out over the alien world. He leaned his forehead against the cool glass for a while, closing his eyes.

He was helpless. He hated to admit this, he almost refused to, but, so far, he had not even seen a glimpse of hope. On the other hand, he found no real reason to try. Everyone was gone. He couldn't gather the resolve to even hope for a future, he didn't even want one. He just didn't give a damn, really, but that didn't mean he wanted to be used by these men either… there was still something deep inside him that did not want the wrong side to win, no matter what, but what could he do when they already _had_ won?

* * *

Robin's days were mostly spent in thoughts like these, playing over and over in his mind, sometimes making him pace his small cage and hit the walls in frustration. The only thing they had allowed when it came to clothes where some sort of black fabric which was wrapped around his hips. He had woken up wearing it and it almost resembled a mini-skirt made of gauze. Every other day he was given a clean 'wrap', a cloth, a bar of soap and a bucket of hot water to wash in. He had tried to do so behind the bathroom partition, but found out that the men could turn the otherwise white glass clear, and since then he hadn't bothered.

The office containing the cage belonged to Slade. William's room was an identical one next to it, as far as Robin had seen through the door which connected them. He was mainly Slade's item, it seemed, and that wasn't surprising considering their history. He had never met William before, but the men had told him that they had been working together for years before Robin had even been born.

They hadn't been involved with the Brotherhood of Evil, at least they claimed so, although Wintergreen had joined them as a spy later on. That had proved useful as the Brotherhood had taken things too far and been too clumsy, and the pair had decided to take over.

Pair, though… even though the men were close, very close, Robin sensed no romantic or sexual vibes between them. Slade had commented that they had shared lovers before, and clearly intended to do so again, but it didn't seem to go farther than that, as far as Robin could see. He was grateful for that, or who knew what he would have been forced to witness…?

* * *

His experiences had been bad enough. Slade had proudly told him of his newly developed drugs which now helped control the world, and Robin had been forced to try some out. He had spent hours being scared out of his mind, or in agonizing pain. He had also been given a lust-drug which had made him writher on the floor, eventually coming again and again until he lost consciousness. The worst had been the one that made him happy, though. He had laughed and joked with the men, even flirted with them, without a care in the world. Coming down had felt like having his fresh wounds torn open again, this and the guilt had made him curl up in a corner for hours.

* * *

Robin shook his head, trying to snap out of his thoughts and glared at the mattress. He had been so damn grateful when he had gotten it! Delighted! He hated himself for that, but he couldn't help it after weeks trying to sleep on a narrow, hard, padded bench. Then the joke about 'christening' had been uttered, and his stomach had turned to ice.

He looked up to see that Slade had left, leaving Wintergreen behind, as they were working on something by a table.

"Hey, Will!" Robin called. He had spoken to both of the men individually many times, trying to figure out if there was some way to drive a wedge between them. He might know that he was beaten, but he tried to keep that knowledge out of his voice. He had even entertained the thought of trying to play them against each other on a sexual level, since it became clear to him that things were heading that way. He was too inexperienced however, and didn't quite know where to start. All his other tries had failed miserably. The bond between the men were simply to strong, the trust too complete, there was nothing Robin could do to even scratch the surface.

"Yes, Robin?" the man answered a cool, collected, but slightly distracted way.

"I have a deal for ya…" Robin said and walked up to the glass, oozing confidence which wasn't really there.

"Oh yes? And what, pray tell, might that be, lad?" The man's pale green eyes glittered with amusement, his English accent still evident after all these years. The man might have been really charming, defiantly more so than Slade, if Robin had been on the right side of the glass… and somewhat out of his mind.

"Well, you know… You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours…" Robin smirked vaguely. He did want to get away with giving as little as possible for what he wanted.

"And if I don't have an itch?" the man said, shuffling through some papers.

"Oh, _you_ have an_ itch_…" Robin grinned. "And I bet it's _big_…"

"You are a naughty little tart, aren't you?" the man chuckled.

He was. Well, at least that was the act he was trying to put up whenever he wasn't too frustrated or devastated. The truth was that though he didn't mind the idea of a male lover, he was terrified of the idea of being at the mercy of two, and especially _these_ two. He couldn't imagine them making his first time pleasant. The reason for the act that was he had been completely unprepared when the first sexual innuendo had come, and he knew, by the glint in Slade's eye, that he had looked scared. So, from then on, he had really tried to act like the thought didn't bother him at all. He was sure the men saw through it, but acting confident actually made him feel a tiny bit stronger.

Robin had a small smirk on his lips as he put the palms to the glass, just like he was caressing a man's chest, and nodded.

"So… what does the tart want?" William asked.

"When you decide to _finally _let me play with you… I want drugs." Robin said, the last part in a dry, dark voice.

"Is that so?" the man blinked, visibly surprised.

"Yes. Want me to say please?" Robin growled.

"Shouldn't you specify what kind? We might give you Fear again." William told him.

"No matter. Anything." The teen hissed.

"No."

Robin was about to argue, but then Slade came back in the room. The man walked like the dangerous predator he was, his senses incredibly sharp. Robin pictured William as a sting-ray, floating beautifully and gracefully through the water, but surprisingly deadly. Slade, however, was a great white shark, making no effort to hide or appear to be anything other than pure, unadulterated death.

"Will don't want me to have sex with you…" Robin said with a little pout. "I asked for this tiny, tiny thing, and he said no."

"What did he want?" Slade asked his friend.

"To be drugged. The boy is clearly terrified." William answered.

"Am not! I just want it to be good, and lord knows that with the two of _you_ fumbling about it won't be!" Robin tried, knowing he had made a mistake by asking. He had thought that maybe, just maybe, William would see the benefit for all of them, but he had been wrong.

"Well, you'll find out tonight." Slade smirked at him. We have been given the all clear to remove you from the cage for a while."

"What am I? In quarantine?" Robin snorted.

"Exactly." Slade told him. "I'm sure you remember all the injections and blood-tests the robot has done? They were mostly vaccinations, and it seems your system is strong enough now to face most of the dangers of this world."

"Is there something I can take against the two of you?" Robin muttered.

Slade just chuckled and shook his head.

"Actually…" William smirked. "He _could_ take a laxative… I think I'd rather leave him alone then…"

* * *

Robin's head was spinning, but unfortunately not from a drug. He had been collected by the Robot and taken to a shower where he apparently was supposed to make himself presentable. Just the walk across the building, the way the air smelled, the feelings of rugs under his feet, the new sights, had made him experience a slight sensory overload after being locked up in one place for two weeks. The shower added to it, although it was also wonderful, and Robin had tried to drag it out. After forty minutes the water had simply turned off, however, and the robot had forcibly dragged him out and dried him.

Robin was now being led away again, wearing a short-sleeved, dark blue, silky kimono-style robe which came down to his knees, and nothing else.

The bot took him down a hall and opened a door at the end of it, revealing a spacious open-plan apartment, with the bedroom on the far end, elevated above the rest, a few steps leading up to it.

In front of a strange lethal-looking fireplace, Slade and William were waiting for him, dressed in similar robes as the one he was wearing.

"Ah, our little bird has arrived." Slade raised a glass towards him. "Come in, Robin… have some wine."

"Thanks. I don't drink." the teen said firmly.

"Funny." Wintergreen said and offered him a glass anyway. "I could have sworn you asked for something to take the edge off?"

Robin blinked and then hurriedly took the drink, guzzling it all down.

"There. Let's get nasty. Follow me." he said and turned towards the bedroom.

"Not so fast." Slade chuckled and caught his arm. "Why don't we have another drink and enjoy ourselves on the sofa first?"

"On the sofa?" Robin gaped.

"Seems our bird is a parrot…" Slade smirked. "Yes, Robin. Why not relax for a while?

"You can do that when we're finished." the teen snorted. "What, you need time for the Viagra to kick in?"

"Not a parrot. A mockingbird." Wintergreen laughed. "He seems far too eager… maybe we should do as he asks?"

"You should _always_ do that." Robin told them. "So… you are both bottoms, right?"

That got an outright laugh from the friends, and they came up to either side of the teen, snaking their arms around his back.

"Of course we are, Robin…" Slade chuckled, as they started to lead him towards the bedroom.

"Yes… although we are thinking of trying something new…"

"Not a good idea for old dogs…" Robin warned them, jumping as one of them, he wasn't sure who, pinched his ass in retaliation.

His heart was pounding, his mouth dry. Someone gave him another glass of wine, and he downed this as well. So far the men were both gentle, coaxing him down on the bed where they stretched out on either side of him.

"Such a pretty face… and so stunning eyes…" William commented and caressed the side of the teen's face.

"Feel this." Slade urged him, the man sliding a hand up Robin's arm. "Completely smooth."

Robin had felt like a freak as he had first discovered the loss of body-hair, and now it seemed like the sensations from the caresses only intensified because of it.

Robin didn't know what to do with himself, and so, for the moment, he stayed still, on his back and with his arms by his side. It was a little matter of knowing how to talk the talk but not walk the walk, as the saying went. He focused on his breathing instead, trying to keep it deep and calm. Slade fucked that up by kissing him.

Robin's flight-senses kicked into overdrive then, and he tried to wrench his head away. Slade's fingers closed around the back of his neck. The teen then grabbed the man's shoulder to push him away.

"Hold him." Slade ordered and caught a wrist himself.

William chuckled and took hold of the other, wrenching the arm over the teen's head and pinning it down until Slade could do the same and then change his grip, holding both of Robin's wrists in one hand.

Robin had legs too, however, and more importantly, knees. He was almost able to hit the slimmer man before Wintergreen simply straddled them.

"Why don't you distract our young toy a little?" Slade suggested with a smirk, and William parted Robin's robes easily.

The teen tried to hold back a sob at being completely exposed like that. Even when washing he had done his best to shield himself, but now he couldn't.

"Damn, he looks young like this…" William murmured, and ran a finger down Robin's stomach to his hairless groin.

"Younger than fifteen? Pervert!" Robin growled.

"Fifteen?" William looked up at Slade questioningly. "I thought he was at least seventeen."

"Well, you never asked…" Slade purred. "Is that a problem?"

Wintergreen looked down at the teen; Robin was now staring up at him, a small flare of hope burning in his eyes. The man ran a hand over his chest and then abs again, before he smirked.

"No. He's ripe… let's pluck him."

Slade chuckled again at his friend's words and covered Robin's lips with his. The Titan kept his mouth closed, teeth clenched, but then a wet heat suddenly surrounded his flaccid cock and he gasped loudly, his body convulsing. Slade took the opportunity to plunder his mouth with his tongue, and also got a firm grip on the teen's jaw, making it impossible for Robin to bite him.

"He likes this…" Came a chuckle from William, and Robin winced. He tried hard to think of cold showers and starvation victims but it didn't work. His body was not used to being touch like this and had no defense against it.

"Of course he does…" Slade smirked and let go of Robin's jaw to pinch his nipple instead. "Take over for a moment, will you?" Slade asked his friend, and Robin tried not to miss the wonderful new experience as William moved up, holding down his wrists with both hands. Slade got off the bed, and before Robin's eyes, he slid his robe off.

"Funny, he doesn't squeal in joy, seeing you…" Wintergreen snickered dryly.

"Only the _willing _does." Slade smirked. "And even most of_ them_ look as scared as Robin."

"I'm... not scared…" Robin lied.

"Don't worry, little bird…" William grinned down at him, his eyes glittering again. "I'm here… I'll make you ready for him…" the man said, and bent down to kiss the boy's chest. Robin shivered and blushed as the man's tongue and lips got his nipples to stiffen. It seemed everything of his was getting hard without him wanting it too. William slid down lower, but the moment his grip on Robin's wrists loosened, Slade's hand was back. The two of them were working in perfect synch with each other, and Robin never had a chance.

Something soft and cold wrapped around his wrists, and Robin started pulling at the robe belt Slade had tied him with. The end of the silky fabric was fastened to the head-board, leaving both of Slade's hands free.

The man started discovering the teen's neck and chest, again commenting about the smooth, soft skin, while Wintergreen had coaxed Robin's length into full hardness by now.

"I could use some help with his legs." the British man said, and Slade pulled Robin's own robe-belt out from under the teen. One end was then tied around his ankle, and the other around his waist, forcing him to bend his leg. The procedure was repeated using William's belt, and now the men could control Robin's legs as well.

Both of them let the teen go for a moment, moving back to admire their work. Robin struggled, keeping his knees firmly closed, wishing the fabric hadn't been so strong.

"Ready?" William smirked at his companion.

"As you can see." The man chuckled dryly.

"Well, then…" the older of the two men smirked and returned to the bed, easily prying Robin's knees apart. "Would you hold one?" he asked Slade, and the man didn't object. They went back to their previous activities, Slade's kisses and bites slowly moving upwards again. William licked at the tip of Robin's cock, keeping it interested, when he suddenly pushed a finger into him. The digit was slim and slick, so it didn't really hurt, but Robin cried out from the surprise and humiliation.

"Now Robin… let's make a little deal…" Slade smirked above him. "You promise me to kiss me back and be really good about it, and I'll promise you that I won't let Will shove his whole arm up your ass… do you agree?"

Robin's eyes widened at the thought, and a small whimper escaped him.

"Aww… you know I love to fist them." the man, who was now pushing another finger inside Robin, complained.

"I know, but I thought we'd give our toy a chance to have us take things slowly with him…" Slade smiled. "Well, Robin, are you going to be a good boy?"

"Y-yes." Robin whispered, hating himself, but even if the threat was a bluff, he didn't dare to call it.

"That's my pretty little bird…" The man leered and bent down. "If you are _really_ good…" Slade whispered against his lips, "I'm going to untie your hands… If I do, you better figure out what to do with them… are we clear?"

"…yes…" Robin repeated quietly.

"Good." Slade breathed and started kissing him again.

Robin closed his eyes tightly and kissed back. He tried his hardest and then, with not much more than a tug on the restraints from Slade, his arms came free. He froze for a second, but then slowly placed his hands on the man's shoulders, not quite knowing what to do with them, or what he was _allowed_ to do.

"Try harder, boy…" the man growled in his ear, and Robin's hands started caressing his back and neck, even being as bolds as to card his fingers through the man's hair. Slade seemed to at least appreciate the effort and showed that to him first hand. The man could do amazing things with his lips and tongue, but Robin wasn't sure if that was actually helpful or not. It distracted him, though, up to the point where Wintergreen, who had kept sucking his cock and moving his fingers in and out, pushed a third finger in.

"No! No more!" the teen gasped, clutching at the man's back. "Don't… don't let him put any more in me… please?"

"Very well…. But you'll regret it in the morning." Slade smirked. "So does this mean you are ready for me, Robin? That you want me? I'll let you choose between me and a forth finger… maybe his thumb as well… you know, I only promised not to let him ram his _arm_ up into you, I said nothing about just his _hand_…"

"I... I'm ready." The teen swallowed and tried to sound confident.

"Very well… let's turn you over, shall we?"

The men again moved and Robin noticed dazedly that he had been right about them; they never touched each other in an intimate way, they only touched him.

Slade grabbed his Robin's hips and flipped him over. Robin groaned as the belts cut into his ankles and midriff, but a second later those were untied as well and he was hoisted properly up on his knees on the large bed.

"Now, Robin, William has been very kind by preparing you. I think you should thank him by doing something nice for him in turn, don't you?" Slade said.

As Wintergreen came to kneel in front of him, it became very clear to Robin what the 'nice thing' was. His body tensed again, once more on the brink of trying to escape, but then one of the belts was pulled around his throat.

"Wintergreen will hold the end of this, and every time he feels hesitation, or a scrape of teeth, he'll tighten it… It's up to _you_ if you are alive at the end of this." Slade told him.

Robin growled as his leash was yanked, but then, behind him, he felt Slade get into position. The tip of Wintergreens cock was brushing against his lips, smearing them with pre-cum, as Slade started to push in.

The pain, as Robin's body fought the intuition, was blinding at first. Then there was another yank on the belt around his throat, cutting off his air supply for a moment, and the teen got something else to think about. He gasped, but his mouth and throat was then filled by William's shaft.

The men again worked perfectly together, distracting Robin with something uncomfortable to help him forget another uncomfortable thing. The teen had tears streaming down his face from a mix of lack of air, pain and humiliation, but after a while the pain in his backside seemed to ease, and he learned how to relax his throat so that he didn't feel like he was choking so badly. He placed a hand on William's hip to try to control the thrusts, but gut a warning tug on the leash for it. Instead Robin started to caress the skin, working his way to stroking the base of the cock. This was rewarded, but it still helped him control the man's movement and make sure he didn't get the whole thing down his throat. Slade had been huge, but Wintergreen was not small either. Maybe longer, where Slade had the bigger girth. It was typical, Robin thought, because he would like something shorter down his throat and something slimmer in his ass. Of course he would have preferred nothing in both, but that didn't seem to be an option.

* * *

The men were so in synch that they even came at almost the same time. Slade withdrew while Wintergreen was happy having Robin continue to lick him. The man didn't seem to have lost much hardness, which made Robin wonder if there actually _were_ some sort of drugs involved.

"Where are you going?" William asked Slade as the man got of the bed.

"Going to clean up and have the boy suck me. Is his mouth any good?"

"Oh, yes, there's some talent there." William smiled down at the scowling teen. "Mind if I fuck him?"

"Not at all, take your turn." Slade waved.

Wintergreen nodded and moved around behind Robin. The teen might have been able to make a run for it now, surprising the older man, but he didn't think he would be able to even walk, much less fight and run.

"Hmmm… Slade washing first… he must really _like_ you, boy…" the other man chuckled, and parted Robin's cheeks. "Good, you didn't bleed much." he said and then buried himself inside. Robin let out a little yelp as he did, but William was slimmer, and the teen was actually surprised at the lack of any real pain.

* * *

Slade came out just as he was breached and only stood there, seemingly enjoying the view, for a while.

"Do you want me to make him cum?" Wintergreen asked, and Slade nodded.

"I'd like to see that, yes." he smirked.

A hand closed around Robin's length, which had been soft since William stopped sucking it, and skillful fingers started to awaken it again. Robin fought a tremendous inner battle, but a while later, when William suddenly changed the angle of his thrusts, his cock slammed into something which Slade had barely brushed. Robin gasped the first time and was moaning and crying by the fifth. He lost the battle soon after.

* * *

William had held back, and didn't let himself come until Slade had forced himself down Robin's throat. Then the man pulled out and stretched out on the bed, enjoying the show, until Slade came as well.

Robin didn't remember much of it, he was too exhausted, and when he opened his eyes, he was wedged between the men again.

"You were very good, Robin…" William praised him.

"Told you so…" Slade smirked smugly. "He'll be perfect with a bit of training."

"I don't think I'll grow tired of him for say… two… maybe three hundred years…" Wintergreen chuckled.

Slade looked down into Robin's eyes which were widening with horror.

"Yes, my little bird… we are going to keep you… for a very, very long time…"

_The End._

* * *

A/N: That's that! Weird pairing, huh? –grin- But not too shabby once I started to write it… or what did you think? The prompt word for this story was "Mockingbird", by the way, and **Haljaruna **also told me she didn't want hardcore BDSM, but that bondage would be fine… she also said that she wouldn't mind Robin being a very demanding and kinky bottom and here I felt I failed.. I tried to work in some attitude, but I couldn't get that character to match this universe… I felt I already bent the universe so much so that doing a major character-change as well would make it feel even more foreign, and I did want the parallels to the 2060 original story to still be there… I COULD have used a pleasure-drug, like Robin was hoping for, but that, in the end felt too cheap… and since I hadn't written a dub/non con in a while… ;) please imagine that he turns in to an demanding and kinky bottom after Slade and Will are done with the training… ; ) Hope you enjoyed the story!


	6. 06 Growing Closer

**Monday 6 December**

Merry Christmas** Xajora!**

I hope that you will like what I did with your versatile ideas…

Free-standing story.

Genre: AU

Check out the bottom A/N for the prompt and my thoughts regarding it…

**

* * *

**

Growing Closer

"I'm home!" Robin called out, pulling off his black and red hood before carefully setting down the circuit card he had just stolen.

"Any problems?" Slade asked, coming towards him down the hall.

"Nope. Saw Batman, but he didn't see me."

"That's my boy." the man grinned and ruffled Robin's hair.

"Hey, quit it! I'm seventeen, Slade!" Robin chuckled. "I'm not a kid anymore."

"Oh, no? Guess that means we can stop buying those dreadful sugary chocolate cereals then?"

"No! Not my Cocoa Krispies!" Robin wailed. "Watch it or the card gets it!" he smirked, snatching up the small box holding his loot again.

"You are ruthless… just the way I like you…" Slade chuckled and shook his head. "Now come. We have work to do."

"Yes, Sir. What is it?" Robin asked, immediately more serious, although his eyes still glittered with humor and energy.

* * *

It had been nine years since the horrible murder of his parents. Slade had been on the scene and taken care of him that very night. There had been some sort of custody-fight with the millionaire Bruce Wayne, although Robin was too young to remember the details. He _did_ remember telling some people that he didn't want to leave Slade, and then the man had presented some fake documents showing them that he was really Robin's uncle, or something like that. The boy had no idea, but he was happy with the results; he got to stay with the man who killed his parent's murderer for him.

Robin had been allowed to watch, and it was still one of his best memories. Slade hadn't offered the boy to do the deed himself, but Robin was pretty sure he would have been able to. Instead Slade had trained him to be a master-thief. Now, at seventeen, he could do anything from pick pockets to break into bank-vaults, and he enjoyed every minute of it… the rush, the adrenaline, the danger… there was nothing like it in the world.

Slade was a firm teacher, but he also had a surprisingly laid back sense of humor when they weren't working. Robin had few, but unconditional, rules to follow, which included always following Slade's orders, always focusing on his task and never give his identity or their hideout away. They moved regularly and spent a lot of time abroad as well, as Slade had several centers of operations across the globe. When Robin wasn't on a mission, he was working out or studying. Slade had taught him seven languages so far, and his hacking-skills would soon surpass his master's. Slade insisted on giving him a somewhat normal education; math, history, geography, language and science among other thing. He had even enrolled in a school once or twice if they were to stay in a place for a longer amount of time, but Robin had always been bored there. He was too far ahead of the others and the children were so… childish.

* * *

All in all, Robin was an unusually happy teen. Slade was his master or mentor more than his father, but the man had still held him when he had woken up crying after his parents when he was younger, and been there for all the difficult questions and embarrassing answers life always brought about at certain age. Like liking boys more than girls.

Slade had not locked him away, quite the opposite; he had made sure that the boy learned to get along with people, make friends and business-alliances, although the man taught him to never give too much away about himself. It was important that Robin understood the social game, however, or he would draw too much attention to himself.

Robin did enjoy having people around him, but he liked being alone with Slade the best, working together on a project or just reading next to each other.

* * *

"Our client will be pleased; you managed this well before the deadline." Slade said as they came into the work area.

"Thanks. It was easy." Robin shrugged.

"Careful with the pride there, little bird…" Slade chuckled. "And didn't you say Batman was around? What if he had spotted you?"

"Well, I wouldn't have minded a bit of a wrestle…" the teen grinned cheekily. "He's hot…"

"Keep your hormones from flooding your brain. He'd rather put you in jail than fuck you." Slade growled. "Now, after we make the drop-off, here's our next mission…"

* * *

Robin let his mind wander, just slightly, as he listened to Slade. He regretted the Batman-comment, but, just for once, he wished he'd gotten the response he wished for… something along the line of Slade pulling him close and claiming that Robin belonged to him and no one else. He knew these feelings were almost forbidden. He had grown up with the man. This was Slade! Slade, who had cleaned and bandaged his scuffed knees, read to him from history books and, once, looked for monsters under his bed. Slade, his master who gave him assignments, worked him hard and always expected the very best of him. And… still… Robin wanted more.

* * *

"Pay attention, brat!" Slade said and cuffed Robin on the head. The teen had zoned out, something which thankfully didn't happen often, but Slade wasn't about to let it slide.

"Sorry, Sir." The boy lowered his eyes in shame and then straightened up. "Please repeat the last things you said?"

Slade did, as he studied the boy, no, young man in front of him. He had visited the circus that faithful night because he was working for a rival of Tony Zucco's at the time and had heard that the man was trying to extort money from Haley's Circus. His client wanted Zucco out of the picture for a while, so Slade was there to gather evidence. It would have been easier if it had been an assassination, but, apparently, Zucco was deemed to still be of some use.

He had watched the show from the side of the stands, with very little interest until the family of acrobats came on. Slade's eye had locked onto the young boy and seen amazing potential there. If the apparent accident hadn't happened, however, nothing more would have come of it, and Slade would probably never had seen Robin again. It was, no doubt, fate.

Still, it hadn't been an easy decision to care for the boy. Slade had just been in the right spot to intercept him, before he managed to rush all the way over to the mangled bodies of his family; a sight which, the man was sure, would have left even deeper emotional scars than he already had. Grabbing the boy had been instinct. Deathstroke the Terminator, even though he would never hurt a child, normally would have just walked away, not out of cruelty, but because it was never a smart move to draw that kind of attention to himself. Now he ended up in the centre of things, but, the moment Robin's small arms closed around his neck, the decision was made.

It soon became clear to him, as he heard some whispers, that even though the circus would have loved to take the boy in, since he was family, they would struggle doing so. By then Slade were already remodeling his life to fit the boy in it. The trouble with Bruce Wayne, who had also been there that night, came as a surprise, but a few fake documents took care of that. Slade knew who Bruce was, and it was clear that it was the loss of his own parent's which had made the man act. Bruce saw himself in Robin, and Slade understood the dangers in that. Robin was not a solitary child of a wealthy man who had been taken etiquette-classes since before he could walk and been raised by a butler. Robin was vibrant, sociable, happy-go-lucky and used to being surrounded by a large, colorful family. He couldn't be locked away in a manor and expected to behave, it would drive him crazy.

Slade might not have a family to offer Robin either, but he _had_ tried. As soon as the boy had started to recover from his grief, Slade had spent almost all his time with him, distracting him with new knowledge and experiences, and Robin had sucked it all up. Now, on the threshold of adulthood, Slade looked at his apprentice with pride and… something more. He had never expected to be this... _attached_ to the boy, but he was. The depth of that attachment was something he could never let Robin know, however; he was sure that would destroy what they had. It was difficult, though, whenever Robin made comments about other men or boys which had caught his eyes, even if they were just characters in a TV-show or movie. Slade had to rein in his emotions every time.

* * *

"Slade?" Robin said, touching his arm.

"Hm? Yes?" the man asked.

"Heh, I think someone _else_ needs to focus too!" the teen grinned. "So, we are going to Moscow and we are going to find this former politician… then what?"

Slade looked down on his apprentice, an uneasy hesitation growing in his chest.

"Robin… this is an assassination."

The teen blinked.

"It's… it's time?"

"Yes. I think you are ready."

The teen didn't smile, but he looked back calmly and nodded.

"Yes, Sir."

"Good. We'll leave tomorrow." Slade told him and gathered the plans spread out over the table. They had barely gone through them, but there would be time enough on the flight. "Go finish your homework and then take the night off. You have deserved it."

This time Robin smiled.

* * *

Robin saved the file in the folder which contained his completed work. Slade would check it and talk to him about it later. He thought that he had done a good job on this one, but after coming back from the mission and hearing about the next one, he had been a little distracted.

He had always known Slade was a killer, hell, Zucco had been part of his first mission. Slade had had him track the man down for the man to kill. Robin had enjoyed it, but that had been personal. He'd never taken another man's life before, even though he had severely hurt a few in fights. That had been self defense, however, and usually Robin kept to the shadows, unnoticed.

His feelings now were a mix of pride and anxiety. Slade had told him, when he was younger, that he wouldn't expect him to kill until he was an adult. That meant the man now considered him as such, or would, once the mission was completed. He wanted that, more than anything, but there was still a tint of fear to the excitement. He trusted Slade, though, The man would guide him and be by his side, and was all that really mattered.

* * *

The flight was spent planning, in Russian, so they both had a chance to brush up on the language. Their client was a top name among the current Russian leaders, who wanted to make sure a dangerous opponent wouldn't return to the political chessboard.

"Remember, Robin, that just because the client is powerful, doesn't mean that we are any safer or won't get in any legal trouble, quite the opposite. He would have us disappear long before risking any information about this deal leaking out." The man said in flawless Russian.

"Will we meet with him before the … job?" Robin asked, hesitating at the last word.

"I think you meant 'mission'?" Slade smiled. "Don't worry, your accent is good enough, it doesn't matter if you use simpler words, as long as you don't appear to be searching for them too much." As Robin nodded, the man continued. "And to answer your question; no. We have all the details and have been asked to keep a low profile. It will be a quick job."

The teen nodded again and went back to studying the city plans, committing them to memory. They had been informed of the recent changes, such as construction-work, which would make some routes unusable, and that would save them a lot of time on site.

"I have a contact in the city, and I have arranged for a sniper-rifle." Slade told Robin.

"But… you… we always kill face to face, whenever it's possible. That's the honorable way!" Robin objected, offended blue eyes glittering.

"It's your first time, Robin, and it's important that we're not seen. It's quick, clean and low-risk."

"Oh… okay…" Robin said, lowering his eyes.

"It doesn't mean I don't believe in you, Robin." Slade said sternly. "Remember, my first kills were in the military, using rifles, bombs, mines… all messy, all impersonal and all senseless. This is a hit in a city area, surrounded by tall buildings. If the client wouldn't want the kill to be a warning or a lesson, I would probably have chosen this method for myself; I didn't do it because of you."

"Thanks." The teen nodded, his eyes warm now. Slade saw the seriousness in them, however, and the worry he felt only increased.

* * *

Two days later they were in position. Slade was wearing his usual outfit of a black Kevlar suit and a black and orange hood. Robin also wore black, but a deep red stylized bird appeared on his chest, and the black hood had a red slash across his right eye. Robin had chosen this outfit himself, as he had done with all the different versions of it. This particular design he had used since he was fifteen, however, and when Slade had asked about the hood, Robin had replied that not all scars were visible, and that he wanted something that connected them.

The color-combination made Robin's blue eyes stand out even more, piercing those who were lucky, or unlucky, to see him.

They were now stretched out on a roof, waiting for their prey. Robin had checked and assembled the rifle, making sure everything was in order, and it was now aimed at the pavement across the street. All that was now needed was the target and pulling the trigger.

"Slade?"

"Yes?"

"What does it feel like?" Robin asked, blushing a little, afraid that the man would find the question childish or stupid.

"It depends. It different every time. If you don't feel _something_, though, you are not human."

"I'm_ very_ human…" Robin muttered and Slade gave a low chuckle.

"Stage fright?"

"Some."

"Good. I don't want you to take this lightly." the man nodded and reached out to squeeze Robin's shoulder.

The teen checked the time. There was still about ten minutes until they expected the hit to appear. The man had a certain routine, something which was very dangerous for him, since it made things so much easier for them.

"Sooo… I'll be an adult now, right?" Robin said in a flippant voice, which even sounded fake to his own ears.

* * *

Slade picked up on it as well.

"This can be seen as a rite of passage, perhaps, yes… is that important to you?" he asked, carefully.

"Yeah… I mean, I'm not a kid anymore." Robin shrugged, studying the road below so to avoid meeting the man's gaze. Slade frowned under his mask. Was he missing something here?

"Are saying you want to move away from home?" his master joked.

"No!" Robin answered, before he heard the grin in the man's voice. "No, it's just that we're... both… grownups…"

"Yes?" Slade had a nagging feeling that he should have caught on by now. Robin was usually rather open with his thoughts, and the man asked himself what this hesitation could possibly mean.

"You and me… I mean… Oh, fuck this." Robin muttered.

Slade had one thing he needed to clear up, however.

"You don't have to do this job for me to see you as an adult, Robin. I've considered you one for quite some time." he said, seriously. "Well… except for certain moments."

"I keep telling you that I have no idea how that thumbtack got on your chair!" Robin hissed, a snicker too evident in his voice, however.

"Sure you don't." Slade smirked under the hood.

"Well, anyway… can I tell you something?" Robin said, strangely in a tone of voice which seemed to plead with the man to say no.

"Of course. Anything." the man nodded.

"Well, you… I mean, you've always been there for me, and… you know I love you, right?"

Slade nodded mutely. They had said the words a few times, but they showed it in other ways every day.

"Well… lately… like for… two years…" Robin continued, now looking at Slade, "I… I still love you, but-"

Slade's heart clenched slightly. A 'but' was something he didn't want to hear. Had Robin met someone? Was he really leaving? He knew he had to let the boy go sooner or later, of course, but _this _soon?

"But…" Robin took a deep breath. " But even more now. Slade… I'm_ in_ love with you. I know it's weird, but-"

The man's heart started beating again, and he removed his mask. Robin did the same, worry etched across his face.

* * *

"You're young." Slade said, and Robin's hopes started to die.

"No. You said so yourself; I'm an adult now!" he objected.

"That doesn't' mean that you're not still young…" the man smirked at him. "You'll meet others-"

"I've_ met _others. Other's suck." Robin pouted, all pretence of being a grownup gone. "And not 'suck' as in the good way…" he clarified with a little smirk which was meant to shock his Master. Slade, however, only smirked back.

"Is that so… and you think I would? Suck in a good way?"

Robin turned red. He hadn't expected _that_.

"Ummm… I'm just saying… I know what I want, and I'm not a kid. You wouldn't be taking advantage… I mean… unless you _wanted_ to…" Robin finished the sentence very silently, the blush not going away.

The man in front of him sighed.

"Robin, I… I won't deny feeling something similar for you, but I'm the closest thing to a father-figure you have. We formed a close bond from the very first day… are you willing to risk losing that?"

They were on their stomachs, next to each other, so it was pretty easy for Robin to do what he did next.

* * *

Slade's eye widened as Robin leaned over and kissed him briefly on the lips.

"Are you willing to risk losing_ that_?" the teen asked, very seriously.

"I'm not sure. Another demonstration might help." Slade deadpanned.

The teen only laughed softly and kissed him once more, and this time the tip of his tongue touched Slade's lips as well.

"We thrive on taking risks, don't we?" the man smirked when the kiss ended.

"That's our job." Robin smirked back, and then frowned. "Oh, and speaking of jobs…" the teen put the safety back on the rifle. "I'm not cut out to be an assassin. I think I'll stick to being an amazing thief and spy."

"Good. Then there's at least _one _area you won't outdo me in." Slade smirked. "And, it's just as well… our target passed by three minutes ago."

Robin's eyes flickered to the sidewalk and he looked deeply ashamed of himself.

"Sorry, Sir."

"No need. I'll take him out tomorrow, we still have time." Slade shrugged. "Why don't we return to our base and discuss all this in more detail… Especially intrigued by the 'good and bad sucking'-hypotheses…"

"I'll be glad to tell you more about it…" Robin grinned. "But there's one little thing…"

"Yes?"

"Well, I've been thinking about this for a while now, and ran all your objections through my mind a million times. I knew you would mention my age and worry that you were taking advantage of me, so I decided to wait… until I'm legal."

"That's three months from now…" Slade said flatly.

"Closer to four." Robin told him.

"I know. I was being optimistic." Slade snorted.

"Will that be a problem"? Robin asked carefully.

Slade looked into the blue orbs and smiled.

"I know that you will drive me insane, and on purpose too… but I love you, so I'd wait three _years_ if that's what you want. Three decades too, although that's pushing it."

"I love you too." Robin grinned and leaned in for another kiss.

Slade smirked at him as they parted.

"Don't for a moment think that this means that you get out of completing the ten pages of fractions due Friday."

"Oh, crap." Robin muttered. "Don't I get any breaks?"

"Of course you will… in three months…" the man smirked at him.

"Did I say three? I meant one?" Robin tried.

"You still have fractions."

"I might say six." the teen warned him.

"Did I say ten pages? I meant twenty." Slade countered.

"You have _no_ idea how to barter, do you?" Robin sighed.

Slade chuckled and pulled him close. He would enjoy getting to know the young man on another level in the months, and years, to come. He had a feeling that they would never be bored.

_The End_

* * *

A/N: About the prompt… The prompt was really written as an introduction, but I was given free hands to do this either as a custody-battle story or when Robin was older, and you should now know what I picked (if not, you seriously need to re-read this! ; ) )

**Xajora **suggested Slade as a father-figure but then made the mistake of saying that I could "take it where I wished" and.. well… I think that will pretty much always mean slash… That wasn't the complete reason, though; it was because I wanted to explore that slightly incestuous aspect… ;) I chose to use bits from the original prompt, as Xajora made it clear that it wasn't set in stone, but here is the original one… I think it's very good, maybe it can inspire someone else as well?:

"Slade always knew threatening Batman and winning custody for Dick all those years ago would end up paying off, but he'd never planned getting this...attached to the boy. And now that it's time for him to make his first real assassination and join Slade in the business, he can't help but be a little worried."

Anyway, hope you liked it!


	7. 07 All I Want for Christmas…

**Tuesday 7 December**

Merry Christmas** Animestar73!**

Here's a real Christmas story for you!

Universe: freestanding.

Genre: oh, just fun in general…

Warnings: smut and yes… a kink-warning, but I'm not gonna tell you what… you will just have to read and get SHOCKED… or not… ;) It's not too bad, I promise!

**

* * *

**

All I Want for Christmas….

Vermilion Smith was having a shitty day. Not just because of his shitty name, which was just _one_ of the shitty things the shitty orphanage had given him. No. He was having a shitty day because he had been arrested. One mistake, one burly security guard who wanted to try out his truncheon, and one Christmas ruined. He had been invited to spend it with his boyfriend of four months and his family, and this was to be his first real Christmas… His first real dinner, his first real presents… his first real tree, and not a shitty plastic one which came from a box and was missing half the branches.

Vermilion sighed and banged the back of his head against his wall while chanting.

"Gotta see a klepto-shrink. Gotta see a klepto-shrink."

* * *

"It's very good of you to do this, Robin." the officer smiled in a somewhat ingratiating way. "We are holding several criminals here until their trials."

Robin glanced around the small office. This jail, he knew, consisted only of a few cells, and was, as the officer had implied, only a holding-facility for lesser criminals.

"The Teen Titans are glad to help. We think that talking to these people might help make a difference." he said, smiling loftily. He had learned that smile from Bruce. "Me and my team will pick one cell each… I would like us to have privacy, however… the talks should be confidential."

"Of course." the officer said. "But are you sure that you should actually enter the cell yourselves? Wouldn't talking through the bars be safer?"

"Oh, trust me…" Robin grinned. "You are holding _nothing _we don't know how to handle…"

The Titans were all dressed for the season, in festive jumpers or dresses. Robin was even wearing a full, old fashioned Santa-robe, the kind that reached the floor, along with a matching hat, complete with a white fuzzy bobble on the end.

"Is that the drink of the egg of nog?" Starfire asked from the corner, where she was examining a large bowl.

"Yes, Miss Starfire. It's a way for me and my deputies to enjoy the season. It's alcohol-free of course. You are welcome to have some, if you want."

"Dude, let's_ all_ have some!" Beast Boy exclaimed.

"It might be a way to celebrate. I suppose." Raven muttered.

"Nog-nog-nogging on heaven's doooor!" Cyborg sang, drawing everyone's attention. "What? Not funny?" he asked, somewhat deflated.

"Hilarious." Raven snorted.

"The nog is served!" Starfire declared and handed them each a glass, starting with the police men.

"To Christmas!" Beast Boy said and raised his.

"To Jump." Cyborg added.

"To all of the above and to the fine police force as well!" Robin declared. The officer and his three colleagues cheered and raised their glasses too.

* * *

"I can't believe I _did_ that!" Beast Boy spluttered a bit later, as they had been lefts along in the corridor leading to the individual cells, wiping his tongue with his hands. "That was _eggnog_! You know what's _in_ eggnog? _EGGS!_ Not tofu-eggs, the_ real_ kind!"

"And_ still_ it tastes like barf warmed over." Cyborg muttered.

"I thought the taste was divine!" Starfire smiled brightly. "Although perhaps with some mustard…"

"All right, I get it. Thank you all for taking one for the team… or me." Robin raised his hands in surrender. "Now let's go spread some Christmas cheer, shall we?"

"Which reminds me…would you like to talk me through how to do that again?" Raven asked dryly.

* * *

Vermilion looked up as the door opened. It wasn't time for the lukewarm microwave dinner yet, was it? When he saw the person stepping in, his eyes widened.

"Robin?"

"Hello, Red…" The teen hero grinned.

"Shh! They might hear you!" the thief whispered.

"Nope. We're alone, _Vermilion_. And you are damn lucky you were caught in your civilian clothes, idiot!" Robin smirked and took his mask off.

"With my previous record? No." Red snorted. "Looks like we have to postpone Christmas… a few years…"

The kleptomaniac looked so miserable that Robin couldn't be angry at him any longer.

"Hey… an idiot you may be, but you're _my_ idiot… and I'm here to spread a little Christmas joy…"

"Oh… if you could spread some C4-explosives on the wall too, when you're at it…?" Red X muttered, but looked a little bit happier. He got on his feet and hurried over to his boyfriend to bend down and kiss him hungrily.

"Whoa, boy… you're acting like we haven't met in months…" Robin grinned.

"I'm in prison… My needs are pent up." Red explained with a whine.

"Yes, and you've been here now... what? Three hours?" Robin grinned. "But I hear you… sit back for a moment…" the hero pushed the other teen down until he was sitting on the narrow bed. "It's time for some of that joy…" Robin whispered and took a few steps back.

The Titan started to remove his heavy Santa-robe, and Red X's eyes widened more and more.

"Holy Christmas cross-dressing, Robin…" he breathed.

"And just for you…" Robin purred and slowly turned around, his hands caressing himself, fluttering over a very naughty Mrs. Claus-dress which just barely covered his ass. It was deep red and had white fake-fur lining around the strapless top and hem of the slightly flared skirt. Robin also wore thigh-length red stockings with white bows on them, and, Red realized with a start, his black boots were actually black pumps. Even thought the outer coat was a floor-length one, the thought the hero was pretty brave for wearing them… he hadn't noticed a height-difference, but, then again, Robin's ordinary boots had one hell of a platform sole… The hero had a bit of a height-complex…

"Woooow…" the jailbird said, mouth open and drool gathering.

"You like…?" Robin smirked and started moving around a bit more, before turning and showing off his ass.

"Me loooove." Red admitted. "Damn, you're hot…"

"This isn't all…" Robin told him. "Because I'm _Mrs. _Claus … I get to sit in _your_ lap…" He closed in on the thief and then slowly straddled his legs. The skirt of the dress hiked up and Red got a glimpse of red satin panties, these too with small white bows.

"God, you're gonna kill me, baby…" Red whispered hoarsely as Robin started to grind against him, his hands caressing the other's chest over the rough prison garb.

"Yes… and you can scream all you want… The only ones who might hear you are my team…" Robin smirked in a slightly evil way, nibbling on Rod's ear.

"They… ahhh… they are here?"

"Sure… they like you, you know… they wanted to help…"

"Tell… tell them thanks…" The thief suspected that Robin might have just threatened to cancel pizza-night, but he still felt touched.

Red X then realized that he was having a lap full of Robin, and was just using his hands to steady himself on the bed. That seemed a terrible waste, so he scooted back to prop himself up against the wall, and then grabbed Robin's behind, pulling their groins closer.

"Your ass is mine Mrs. Claus…" he grinned.

"Don't know about that… I haven't checked the list to see if you've been naughty or nice… although considering where we _are_…" Robin looked around.

"Aww… I haven't been _that _naughty…" Red pleaded.

"Pity… I_ only_ reward the naughty kids… it's Santa's job to deal with the goody two-shoes…" Robin grinned.

"Can I hold you to that?" the thief leered.

"Of course!" Robin declared. "But only when I'm in this costume."

"Damn… I have a feeling you're not gonna wear that around town, are you?"

"Err… no." Robin snorted.

"Well, better take advantage, then…" Red shrugged.

"Yes, finally… you are damn slow on the uptake sometimes." Robin chuckled.

"Hey, I'm used to stealing things, not having them offered to me!" Red defended himself. "Now let's see… what to do with my little prison bitch…" he added with a leer.

They started kissing each other in earnest, hands groping and rubbing everywhere they could reach.

"Mmm…. My panties are soaked…" Robin whispered in Red's ear. "You want a happy ending?"

"Of course..." Red panted, his own loose prison-trousers straining.

"_How_ happy?" the naughty Mrs. Claus smirked.

"Depends on how brave you are…" Red smirked back.

"Was that a dare?" Robin asked, arching an eyebrow.

"You bet that sweet, tight ass of yours it was." Red confirmed.

"Well then… nothing I can do but take you up on it, then, is there?" Robin smirked and slid down on the floor between his boyfriend's legs.

Red X closed his eyes in bliss as Robin's lips closed around his cock. From being a beginner, Robin had now almost surpassed the master, that being Red, at giving head, at least in the thief's opinion.

"AAAaaahhhh… I'm close, Robin… really…. really... No! Don't stop! Awww-" Red complained but then stopped himself as the Titan climbed back into his lap. Robin wriggled his ass, and just as Red realized that the hero had slipped his panties off, Robin impaled himself on Red's cock, with only his own saliva as lubrication.

"AAH! Remind… me… to… dare… you… more… often…" the inmate gasped as Robin started to ride him.

"You… do… it… all… the… time… as… it… is…" Robin groaned, picking up speed. He whimpered as Red first pinched his nipples through the dress and then pulled the top down to suck one into his mouth. Red pulled the skirt of the dress up so the whole thing ended up coiled around Robin's waist, before his hand sought out the hero's weeping erection and started to tease it.

"I'm…" Robin gasped.

"…gonna…" Red continued.

"….Ahhh… Yes… yes… YES!" Robin agreed with everything in general.

* * *

After getting dressed, Robin kissed Red softly on the lips.

"I gotta go… visiting hour's almost over."

"I'll miss you… Damn… I'll miss you so much…" Red whispered and returned the kiss feverishly, his eyes a little wet.

"Me too… one more thing, though…"

Where he had kept it, Red didn't know, but suddenly he had a strange key in his hand.

"Universal city-key… opens anything…" Robin grinned. "Wait an hour, though."

"Why an hour?" Red asked, breathlessly staring at his present.

"Starfire spiked the eggnog…" Robin chuckled. "They are going to get very sleepy soon."

"You are brilliant… I love you…" Red burst out.

"Yes. Of course." Robin said haughtily, but the little pleased blush on his cheeks betrayed him. "Two conditions, though… First, you have to let everyone else out of here too, so you're not singled out, and secondly: the key is only a loan, Red… and I want you at the Tower immediately after you get out. You are going to lay low for a while."

"That's three things…" Red pointed out, hopefully. "So maybe I can keep this?" he dangled the key in the air.

"No."

"Kay…" the thief hung his head. "But won't the police get suspicious?"

"I've planted an empty sleeping-gas bomb… they will find it and thing that's the reason they fell asleep… and the best thing is that it's one of Slade's… his symbol on it and everything…" Robin grinned.

"Framing the bastard, I like it…" the thief snickered. "But why not use a real one?"

"Because you can't escape if you're asleep, and it would knock out the whole floor…" Robin told him. "Any more questions, hun?" the hero added teasingly.

"Err… yeah, am I really gonna let out the others? What if they are murderer and rapists and… you know… Hello Kitty-collectors…?"

"Not sure about the last thing, but we have one pick-pocket, one prostitute, one shoplifter and one was arrested for peeing in a public place."

"Aww… we guys just can't get a break…" Red, who didn't think many things were actual crimes, and least of not that.

"Yeah… and this was a girl…" Robin smirked.

"Oh. Plucky."

"More like stupidly drunk, I'm afraid, but no matter. My team has been briefing them, saying that their records might just happen to get deleted if they keep their nose clean and never tell anyone how they got out. They are to say that they fell asleep and then woke up in the park."

"Do you trust them? What if they blab?" Red frowned. Deep down he wanted to be the only delinquent Robin had any sort of faith in.

"Pain… lots of pain…" the teen grinned. "Gotta go! Love you!"

With that the hero left, leaving, Red noticed after a moment, his somewhat soiled panties behind. Red grinned and stuffed them in his pocket. This might not be such a bad Christmas after all…

_The End_

* * *

A/N: Vermilion, of course, means "red"… ;) I could have used some other name meaning red, but it sounded so wonderfully nerdy… ;) And I don't think it's a real name, but you never know… someone might have it…

Robin's "Pain… lots of pain…"-comment is from the move "a Knight's Tale" which I watched the night before writing this. I love that movie… It was like the fourth time I've seen it, though, so I watched it from a slash-POV… lot's of goodies there… it would be so EASY to re-cut it and make it OH so slashy… ;)

Prompt word/sentences for this one was three, actually… "First Christmas present (for Red X)", "Robin dressed as a (naughty) Mrs. Claus" and "lap dance"… I think I used them all pretty well... ;) Hope you enjoyed!


	8. 08 What He Did

**Wednesday 8 December**

Merry Christmas** hanakisa! **

**A/N:** This wish was for a story in the **Terms**-universe with the normal pairings (Slade/Robin, Red X/Speedy), to that's where we're playing today… the prompt-sentence you'll find out about in the bottom A/N.

**

* * *

**

What He Did

Living in the next building over from Robin and Slade had its advantages. Sure, it could be dangerous as hell, but on the other hand one might witness some rather interesting stuff.

Red X, aka Alex, and Speedy, aka Roy, were sitting on top of their roof, relaxing and not having any sort of sex. The same thing, apart from the relaxing, seemed to be happening on the roof across from theirs as well.

"Hey, why does it look like mum won't put out?" Red asked.

"I have no idea- Oh God, _duck_!" Speedy pushed his boyfriend out of the way as a grapple hook sped towards them from out of the blue, hooking onto a pipe just behind them. A second later Robin came flying through the air, his new and improved cord was making it possible for him to travel almost vertical, at high speed. A few meters from the roof's edge he unhooked the grapple-hook and let the momentum carry him the rest of the way, landing without much trouble right in front of the red-heads.

"He's an idiot!" the ex-hero snarled.

"What happened?" Speedy asked carefully, trying to judge how deadly Robin was at this moment.

"I don't want to talk about it!" Robin hissed.

"Wanna hug?" Speedy offered.

"Wanna sleep with us tonight?" Red leered.

"Our bed is always open." Speedy added.

"Your bed is a bloody _drive-through_." Robin snorted.

"Yeah, one million served…" the thief grinned.

"Hey, are you calling us whores?" Speedy asked the thief.

"I'm calling us _lucky_." Red decided.

"Oh. Well, in _that _case." his lucky boyfriend shrugged.

"Let's go inside." Robin muttered. "It's chilly out there, you'll catch a cold."

"Yes mum!" the red-heads chorused in an eerily synchronized way.

* * *

Once inside, Robin absentmindedly started to tidy up. The boy's apartment was, surprisingly enough, not a total pig-sty, but he collected some dishes from the TV-room and cleaning them in the kitchen, wiping the work-tops as well, and checking if the one live plant in the whole place needed water. It did.

Red and Speedy glanced at each other. They knew Robin wasn't much of a household-chores kinda guy, that was what Sarah was for, after all, but it seemed he needed something to do. Their looks grew more worried. Was this really serious? It had looked like quite an argument, and Slade wasn't knocking the door down at this moment, to carry Robin back… that was weird.

Speedy pulled out his phone and the pair disappeared into the bedroom. Red X knew instantly who his boyfriend intended to call; Wintergreen. The older man knew everything that was going on in the building, and might be able to shed some light on the mystery.

"Hi, Will, it's Roy… Robin's here, do you know…? Oh. He did? Okay, just… well, stay away, I guess. We'll work on it from our side." the archer stared at the phone for a moment, before glancing up at Red X. "Slade walked in, completely quiet. He didn't say a word to anybody and has gone to the gym."

"Ow. He's mad." The thief winced.

"Really mad. The question is; what the hell did dad _do_?"

"Does it have to be his fault? What am I saying, of _course _it does…" X smirked.

"Yeah, probably. Let's go try to talk to mum again…" Speedy suggested.

* * *

"I said I don't want to talk about it!" Robin objected once more, after being harassed by his so called friends. He was busy dusting the TV, and didn't want to be interrupted.

"Oh, that's a pity, because we do… and it's two against one." Red X threatened. "Watch it, mum, or we'll take you into the bedroom and do vile things to you until you confess." he added with a hopeful grin.

"Yeah… whatever… might as well let you…" Robin muttered and plopped down on the sofa.

The couple glanced at each other again.

"What?" Speedy said. "You're supposed to tell us to back off."

"Yeah, and threaten with a lot of pain too!" Red said.

"Might have something to do with not letting Slade touch me for over a week…" Robin muttered. "And damn, it's getting hard… literally… Hey, do you guys think you can die from… you know… not doing it?"

"Dunno… We'd rather not risk it…" Speedy smirked.

"So… like you're saying you'd actually _want _to do us…?" Red grinned hopefully.

"Well, maybe it would be just what he deserves! An eye for an eye…" Robin snarled.

"Wha- noooo? No, he_ didn't_?" Speedy couldn't believe his ears. Had Slade cheated on Robin? Impossible! Red's look seemed to say the same thing.

Robin slumped down even further in the sofa and grabbed a pillow, hugging it.

"Come on, kid, there must be some sort of misunderstanding." Red X said, so shocked that he slipped back to using his old nickname for Robin.

"No. Saw them." Robin muttered.

"You did? Where? What happened?" Speedy wanted to know.

"Well, there have been a few signs… there was a stain on his trousers a few days ago…"

"Eww." Red said, before getting an elbow in the side from Roy.

"And he started to disappear. Wouldn't say where he had been or what he'd done… said he was just staking places out… He _always _tells me!"

"So you started following him?"

"Yeah… a few times… he… he…"

"Okay, okay… first off, where? Restaurants? Hotels?"

"No. An alley… an abandoned building… an office once. Why would he do it at a restaurant?" Robin asked.

"No, you're right." Speedy hurriedly said. If Slade was fucking some guy in an alley, he sure as hell wouldn't buy him a fancy dinner. That also meant, probably, that it was just sex. The archer didn't know if Robin should feel more betrayed by that or not. "So… the same guy?"

"What? No, different all the time of course! Slade would never do the same man twice!" Robin gave Speedy an almost affronted, confused look.

"Different guys all the time? I hope he wears protection…" Red X snorted, again getting an elbow in the side for the comment.

"Yeah, he does. He always does." Robin shrugged. "Not sure he needs it, but..."

"_Always_ do? He's done this before?" Speedy wanted to strangle the man who had broken his mum's heart.

"Yeah, all the time! But he usually brings me along, at least to watch! Or he tells me about it… why not now?" Robin, who had seemed to calm down, now was working himself up again.

The redheads gaped.

"Wait… wait… he takes you along to watch him fuck guys in alleys?" Red asked bluntly. Speedy was too shocked to use his elbow this time.

"Yes!" Robin threw his hands out like that was the most natural thing in the world. "Wait… what did you say? Fuck? No! Not fuck! Kill!"

"You… he… he _killed_ people behind your back? _That's_ what you are upset about?" Speedy stared at his long-time friend.

"Yes! Exactly! Behind my back!" Robin agreed, _very_ upset, to say the least.

Speedy placed his hands on Robin's shoulders.

"Rob?" He then started shaking the teen hard. "Are you _insane_? _Snap out of it_!"

"_What_?" Robin growled, teeth clattering.

"Honey, let me. You are getting tired." Red offered and took over the shaking.

"Stop it! I'm gonna hurl!" Robin warned the pair who finally gave up shaking some sense into him.

"Robin, really, you _hate_ killing, don't you?" Red sighed.

"Yes, of course I do! Unless it's deserved…." Robin added, in a way he would never have dreamed himself doing when he was a hero.

"We all know you do. And Slade does too. Do you think he sneaks away to have_ fun_ on his own?" Speedy gave the younger man a very level look.

"You mean…?"

"He's protecting you, yeah! Idiot! Seriously, you've gotten stupider since the serum-thing." Red said, feeling up to being honest for once.

"But he doesn't_ tell_ me-"

"Because telling you is _almost as bad_! It makes you feel guilty, and you get all moody!" Speedy let him know.

"Okay, but why not just tell me that it's for my sake?" Robin was clearly reluctant to let his grudge die.

Speedy sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, very much like Slade did on occasion when the red-heads were around. The archer started to think it might not _all_ be because of them.

"Because that wouldn't be… okay, we'll show you! Role-play time. Red, you'll be Robin, I'll be Slade."

"Sure." The thief said and then cleared his throat. "Hey, you incredibly sexy, tall man of mine, how come you go around killing people behind my back? Bastard!"

Speedy gave him a look and then answered.

"Because, my darling, I love you to bits! I know you suffer whenever we have to off someone, and I can't _bear_ it! I can't see you in any kind of pain, oh love of my life, and that's also why I have my eyes closed while I fuck you, honey!"

"Oh, pumpkin!" Robin/Red exclaimed. "Now I understand, because you were so amazingly open with your feelings _like you never normally are_! I love you too!"

"Thank you, my angel! Let's invite those extremely sexy friends of yours over for some group-sex! I always secretly liked them a lot too!" Slade/Speedy claimed.

"Me too, I've wanted them for ages! Let's call them!" Robin/Red seemed excited by the idea. "I would love to-"

"Okay, okay, _stop_! _Please_, stop?" Robin begged. "I get your point, I promise!"

"Then get your ass back to dad. He's in the gym." Speedy said sternly.

"And, while you are having make-up sex, it wouldn't hurt if you let it slip that you are having it because of us…" Red saw the good marketing-opportunity. "He might be grateful."

"How does Slade show he's grateful? Does he share?" Speedy asked.

"One can only hope." Red grinned. "Anyway, mum-" they turned to Robin, but the teen was gone.

"How did he_ do _that?" Red asked.

"The Bat-gene. Creepy." Speedy shivered. "Hey, wanna do some more role-playing?"

"Sure! My turn to be Slade!" The thief grinned. "I'll be at the gym, and remember… you are very, _very _sorry."

Speedy grinned at his partner's retreating back. Getting mum and dad back together, getting the place tidied up, and then hot make-up sex without the actual _fight_… not a bad night…

_The End._

* * *

A/N: the prompt for this story was: "Why does it look like mum won't put out?"… Hilarious sentence I thought… **hanakisa **wanted to see a bit of Robin being so annoyed with Slade that he was cutting him off, and okay, there could have been more of that in this story, but there's two reasons: I fell in love with this idea, and… the other one I can't tell you about… let's just say that you and **hanakisa **WILL get more of that genre in another story at another time (not an X-mas drabble though)… I hope you still enjoyed it!


	9. 09 The Bunnies are Back!

First a little note to the reviewer "**A. N. O'nymous**" (and you don't have to be anonymous, I don't bite) who said: "You called Hannah Sarah again!"… well… That's because Sarah is her name, Sarah Nicholls, first appearance; "Getaway". I HAVE incorrectly, called her Hannah, before though, at least twice... I don't know why... But Sarah is the right name. If you find any drabble where she is called Hanna, please let me know! Treasure-hunt!

**Thursday 9 December**

Merry Christmas** MewMew2!**

I was HOPING (or should that be hopping?) to get a chance to write this universe again… and now I have someone to blame! Yaaay! Very strange prompt, though… -lol- but I'll work it in!

Genre: silly crack!

Universe: **Hop-hop-hop!** (you should read drabble 82 and 85 of "Delightful drabbles" before this).

Yes…

**

* * *

**

The Bunnies are Back!

Robin groaned as he arched under Slade's body, each thrust-

-cough- Sorry… It's me, Wynja. I never usually cut into stories like this, but I really have to, this time... You see, there has been a time-line mishap, and it's all HIS FAULT! –points at Beast Boy-

Beast Boy: What? Me? What did_ I _do?

You had to twiddle with the damn Time Vortex-thingy!

Beast Boy: I did?

Yes! That's why, in the last drabble, you guys were on the beach in the middle of summer and now, the day after the last drabble ended, it's Christmas-time!

Beast Boy: Errr… Okay… You're _sure_ this has nothing to do with you wanting someone to blame for messing with the story-line continuum?

No. Not at all. And you don't know words that big.

Beast Boy: Sheesh! Excuse ME… I'm damn tired of being written off as the team's airhead, that's Starfire's job!

Oh. Sorry. I'm sure you're really smart and stuff. But… pleeeeeease bail me out here?

Beast Boy: -sigh- Okay. My fault. Now get on with it. I think Robin and Slade were doing something nasty… I'll be in the kitchen.

Thanks honey! There will be pizza waiting for you! Okay, everybody, sorry about that… let's get on with the story…

* * *

Robin groaned as he arched under Slade's body, each thrust electing another moan of pure pleasure. His arms clung around the man's neck, one of his hands running through thick white hair, brushing against a long soft ear, which twitched-

"What the fuck?"

"Yes, I'm _trying_." Slade muttered, a bit hurt that Robin seemed to be confused about what was going on.

"No, I mean… Your ears… they are _back_!"

"So are yours." Slade said, not missing a beat. "May I finish here, or do you want to rush out into the kitchen in panic right _now_?"

"Finish." Robin muttered.

"Good. Because I wasn't going to stop." Slade let him know.

* * *

Robin rushed out into the kitchen in panic.

"We turned back!"

"Obviously." Raven muttered, and moved away slightly. The recent events had not helped her bunny-aversion.

"Hey, what do ya mean 'we'?" Cyborg asked. "Did Slade call … or… something…"

The rest of the Titan's followed Cyborg's line of vision.

"Put some pants on, dude!" Beast Boy, who was sitting by the counter, eating a pizza, though it was morning, groaned.

"Sorry. Forgot." Slade said and turned around. "What's with the Christmas-decorations?"

"Oh, that's my fault." Beast Boy said dryly. "I twiddled with some Time Vortex-thingy. Apparently." he added and glared at the author, who nodded approvingly and made the pizza larger.

The rest of the Titans merely shrugged. Weirder things happened every day.

* * *

"So what went wrong?" Robin asked as they were all gathered in the sofa a while later. Slade now updated with trousers, to the girls disappointment.

"Well, magic can be a bit unstable, especially for around twenty-four hours after a spell has been cast or reversed." Raven lectured. "It's like a stream… or a canal… or something…"

"It contains water?" Slade asked dryly.

"Shut up bunny-boy!" Raven growled. "We tried to help you, both of you, and now-"

"Yes, yes, we're sorry, Raven!" Robin said, his ears flat against his head while Slade started to tap his foot loudly against the floor in agitation. "Please try to explain?"

"I apologize. I _did _drain a lot of my powers while trying figure this out, remember? I'm somewhat tired." Raven sighed. "Simply spoken, magic creates a channel. Traces of this channel remain for a while after a spell has been cast, which means it's easier to cast another one just like it, or reverse it, something which comes in handy in battle. Unfortunately that means that significant bursts of any type of energy connected to this channel might recreate or cancel out the spell. I'm guessing that, last night, some powerful energy outbursts were created between you two. And I'm not just saying this because Robin has the bed-head of the century."

"You guys fucked yourself back into bunnies?" Cyborg gaped. "Wicked!"

"Yes. That almost makes sense. Not far-fetched or forced at all." Beast Boy said ironically and smirked at the author. The left-over pizza suddenly had salami on it.

"It probably helped that you two_ wanted_ this. You wanted to be together, so subconsciously, you wanted to be bunnies." Raven said accusingly.

Robin and Slade glanced at each other.

"Well… who _wouldn't _want to fuck him?" Slade shrugged.

"Likewise." Robin added and nudged the man with his head.

"Wanna…?"

"Maaaaybe…"

"Go. Maybe you can hump each other back to normal again…" Raven muttered and waved them off.

* * *

Amazingly enough it worked. When the two males returned to the group twenty minutes later the ears and fluffy tails were gone.

There was a small celebration, involving Slade and Robin emptying the fridge of meat-products and devouring them.

"I'll never eat another carrot again!" Robin declared.

Finally Slade stood up.

"Well, Titans… it's been… unreal. I'll leave now before my reputation is completely destroyed."

"I'll help you pack." Robin offered and the two disappeared down the hall.

Two minutes later Cyborg suddenly looked up at the others.

"Wait a minute… pack _what_?"

Two rather ashamed bunnies reappeared after a little while.

"You know what?" Beast Boy smirked. "I think I'm starting to like this plot."

"Shut up and go buy some salad." Robin growled in a scary bunny-way.

* * *

"So you do the humping and get the ears and you do the humping again and lose them?" Starfire said, staring at them both and looking like she wanted to bring them to her home planet and put them in a zoo.

"Pretty much, yes." Robin muttered, trying to scratch his ear with his foot. As he was very limber, he succeeded.

"Then do it again and then stop." Raven said. "Easy!"

"Yeah…" Robin mumbled and glared at Slade.

"Don't wanna." the man declared.

"What he said…" Robin nodded and shuffled closer to Slade for protection.

"Wait… wait… you don't want to have sex or you don't want to_ stop_ having sex?" Beast Boy asked.

"Don't wanna stop." Slade muttered sullenly. "We had a burrow and everything." he added, remembering the beach.

"Yeah, and we've just finished marking my room." Robin nodded.

"Please…? How?" Starfire asked the question the rest of them were too afraid to ask.

"Like this." Robin said and rubbed his chin against Slade. "Mmm… you're mine…"

Slade nibbled at Robin's neck in turn, until they noticed the team staring at them and stopped.

Slade seemed to pull himself together.

"Besides, what's the guarantee that this won't happen again, even if we had different partners?" he asked and then glared at Beast Boy who had started snickering.

"Well, I don't_ think_-" Raven started, but then the alarm went off.

"The H.I.V.E!" Cyborg reported.

"Titans _GO_!" Robin yelled. "And take the stairs! Slade! In the elevator, now!"

"I'm not going to help-" Slade objected.

"-stairs?" Cyborg protested at the same time.

"Have Starfire carry you, Cy!" Robin ordered. "And Slade, you're not coming with us, but I'm not gonna go out there a bunny. _GO_!"

Slade followed, leaving the team a bit behind, staring at each other.

"What… they are going to…? In the elevator?" Beast Boy looked stunned.

"I have _no_ problem with the stairs any more…" Cyborg declared and took off.

* * *

They had only been back at the Tower for an hour when the rabbit-ears appeared again.

"How can you keep _going_?" Cyborg exclaimed, a bit ruffled as it was him that had walked in on them in the gym. "I mean... wouldn't there be… chafing…?"

"One would imagine that_ both_ of you…" Starfire added curiously.

"Not even sore." Robin smirked.

"Could get hard in a second." Slade admitted, leering a bit at Robin.

"Wanna…?"

"No, not now!" Raven said. "You two are going to go into the den and clean up! There's salad-leafs everywhere!"

"Yeah, you should team up and call yourselves Slobin." Beast Boy grinned, happy that it wasn't his mess for once.

"Just go. And those ears better be there when I see you again!" Raven growled.

"Guess we just have to do it _twice_ then…" Slade shrugged. "I could live with that."

"No sex or I'm calling Batman!" the half-demon's eyes glowed white. If it was the look or the threat that did it was hard to tell, but the bunnies raced off, tails puffier than ever.

* * *

"Rae… let's just get through Christmas and we'll figure something out." Cyborg said sometime later as the bunnies had been busy cleaning behind the sofa for a suspiciously long time.

"Can we have rabbit instead of turkey?" the witch growled, but then sighed. "Okay… I mean… I guess we should be happy for them?"

"Maybe if they were _normal_…" Cyborg snorted. "But they way they are acting… I slipped in something before and I don't think it was milk."

"Ew."

"Damn right."

* * *

"I don't know why, Star, I just want to!" Robin sighed.

"Yes Robin." the redhead answered and frowned a little. "But surely… all of the day?"

"Yes! Well… mostly. I see him, I wanna fuck him, if he touches me, I wanna fuck him, if he looks at me, I-"

"Yes, my friend, I have acquired the image." the alien stopped him. "Actually I have it also on my phone…"

"Sorry about your bed…"

"That was troublesome but you _did_ buy me a new." Starfire nodded.

"I don't even remember us taking the wrong door…" Robin shrugged, feeling uncomfortable, he didn't have long ears at the moment, but if he did they would have been drooping.

"No need for the gloom!" Starfire tried to brighten things up. "It is soon the time of holiday!"

"Yeah… I guess…" Robin sighed. "Listen, I'm going to slip away to do some shopping while I'm not in bunny-mode, okay? I still have a few Christmas-presents to go."

Starfire smiled and nodded. She thought it was very sweet of her leader to think of them, even with everything that was going on, but, then again, Robin always would… maybe it was time for _them_ to think of _him_?

* * *

"Robin, stop chewing on the tree, man! And Slade, come on, it was just a Christmas cracker, no one's hunting you, so come out from under the rug… it's not like we all can't see you anyway…" Cyborg sighed. He had really had to shoulder the role as the adult now, full time, and he didn't like it. Not even the Christmas-CD playing in the background soothed him.

"Just take them to a room for a while…" Raven suggested. "They act much more normal when they aren't bunnies."

Robin, chewing on some fir needles thought this was a good idea, if only because it involved him having sex with Slade, but since the white-eared bunny wouldn't come out from under the large rug, Robin joined him.

"Hi guys!" Beast Boy called cheerily as he came into the room ladled with bags. "Last of the shopping's done. Got extra carrots. Why is that huge lump in the rug moving like that?"

"Guess." Raven muttered and turned away.

"Oh. So are they going to be bunnied or de-bunnied?" the changeling asked offhandedly.

"De-bunnied."

"Okay… think they will stay like that all through Christmas Eve dinner tonight?"

"Wouldn't bet on it." Cyborg said.

"No. But I'd love to bet _against_ it." Raven smirked.

"No betting on us having sex." Robin snorted behind them, crawling out from under the rug, hiking up his pant's like this was something that happened every day. Well… lately, it was.

"Could someone turn off that annoying music?" Slade growled, following after Robin and strangely cranky for someone who had just gotten laid.

"Yeah, Slade doesn't need carols, he's got jingle bells in his pants!" Beast Boy grinned like a maniac.

"And no more damn Christmas-crackers!" Slade threatened them, his eye narrowed in the direction of the vegetarian. "Where did those come from, anyway?"

"Alfred sent them… He always gets extra British around this time of year. I swear even his accent gets more pronounced." Robin explained.

"Well… All right… traditions and all… touch them and die." Slade stated.

"Things are getting dangerous here… I'll be in the garage for a while." Cyborg told them and headed towards the elevator.

"Talking about traditions which usually do _not_ involve death…" Raven said, "...we're having dinner in an hour. Be there. No long ears."

"Aw, but the carrots!" Beast Boy complained. "I bought extra!"

"There's always tomorrow." Raven told him sternly.

"We'll be good." Robin promised. "Where's Star, by the way?"

"Busy with Christmas secrets." Raven told him.

"So… no Tamaranian dishes for Christmas?" Robin asked.

"It's sad, isn't it?" Raven gave a little smirk.

"Looks like we actually_ might_ get out of this dinner alive then…" Robin grinned back.

"Yes…" Beast Boy smirked. "Nothing's gonna slither off the plate and scare poor little bunny-Slade…."

The attack was immediate, and, as a green bird tried to get away, squawking, feathers flying everywhere, Robin snorted.

"Well… if all of us survive _until _dinner that is…"

"Robin, I never thought I would say this, but I take back what I said before … go fuck Slade. Just make sure to do it twice." Raven groaned.

"Not sure I could get his attention right now… he's pretty intent on killing BB." Robin admitted and watched the hunt across the common room with some interest.

"Oops." Raven said and pushed one of the napkins she had been folding off the counter. Could you pick that up for me, Robin?"

"Sure." The hero said and bent over. He then let out a rather bird-like squawk himself, as he was suddenly lifted and swung over Slade's shoulder.

"We'll be back." the man declared. "You'll die later." he added, pointing at a panting Beast Boy.

"Amazing." the green teen said as he walked up to his team mate. "He actually spotted Robin's ass like that across the room."

"Yup." The smugness in the young woman's face was obvious.

"Thank you." Beast Boy grinned and then added: "Maybe I could reward you with a kiss…?"

"Sorry. I don't kiss dead men." Raven told him

"But you saved my life!" Beast Boy objected.

"Yes. For about ten minutes. They'll be back any time."

"Oh."

"I would run." Raven suggested.

"Right."

"Now."

"Yes…"

"You are wondering if missing dinner or dying is worse, aren't you?" Raven sighed.

"Yeah…" Beast Boy scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"All right. We'll save you again. Somehow. But they will not be having sex on the table… you're not worth _that_ much." the empath muttered.

* * *

Somehow all of them survived, and the next morning they were sitting around the tree opening presents. Robin and Slade had made a nest in a huge paper box which had contained a brand new flat screen TV and movie-system; Robin's gift to his team for being a pain in the ass… or letting Slade be… At the moment they were de-bunnied, however, and pretend that they had never set foot in any box, and had no idea how the bedding of wrapping paper had appeared in it either. Some of their presents, like two toy-bunnies, one black and one white, were also safely tucked away in there for now, along with a gift-certificate for a year's supply of carrots and salad at a local market.

When all the ordinary presents were opened, Cyborg cleared his throat.

"Okay guys… Slade… Robin… the last few weeks have been… Well... interesting. But we all talked about it and have come to an agreement… Star?"

The princess blushed in excitement and withdrew something she had been hiding, before flying over to the couple.

"I have recently discovered the earthly tradition of the card!" she declared proudly. "They are for all of the occasions, yes? Although sadly I have failed at the task of securing a card for this event, although I did ask many dealers… but I manufactured one instead!" the redhead handed over a card so heavy with glitter and bows and other crap stuck on it that Robin almost dropped it.

The pair opened it. Robin understood that even Hallmark might have had trouble supplying this kind of greeting.

"'You are sex-crazed bunnies, but that's okay'?" Slade read aloud, like he wanted to check with Robin if he was actually seeing the same letters.

"Oh… I… thanks…" Robin grinned a bit insecurely.

"What we_ really_ wanted to say…" Cyborg said and glanced at Starfire, "is that we get it. You want to be together, and we're gonna support it. This bunny-thing… well, we'll work around it, we have _so _far… so don't feel bad about it. You're a couple. We'll even tell Batman so if you want."

"Hey, no one said anything about the Bat!" Beast Boy objected, his face a slightly paler green than usual.

"You… you mean it? Really?"

"Yeah. I mean we've seen how you get along, fluffy tails or not. And, sure, Slade occasionally tries to kill some of us, but so do_ you_ once in a while so…" Cyborg shrugged.

"What? I do not!" Robin objected.

"Oh... yeah... you call it 'obstacle course." the other teen grinned. "It's _we_ who call it 'attempted murder'."

"Just wait. I'm gonna be a serial-killer soon…" Robin warned him with a grin.

"I _knew _you'd come around." Slade smirked proudly, getting a bird-glare in reply.

* * *

Soon, after thanking the whole team properly, something even Slade did by officially forgiving Beast Boy for his latest stunt, the pair walked off.

Half an hour later they were snuggling. Robin smiled up at Slade and then blinked.

"Err… how many times did we do it?"

"Only once, I'm afraid… we took it slowly." Slade said. "Why? Disappointed?"

"No… but tail-less!" Robin grinned. "We didn't turn this time!"

"I think you're right…" Slade said, nonplussed.

"Does this mean the spell is broken?" Robin said.

"Maybe…" the man frowned thoughtfully.

"But how?"

"Perhaps… and I'm not good at guessing when it comes to emotional mush, really, but perhaps by gaining the teams 'blessing' as it were…" Slade started, "we are no longer afraid of being forced apart if we become normal again."

"Yes… they pretty much told us that they are okay with it no matter what, right…? So what you are saying is that we subconsciously perhaps wished to remain bunnies just to be able to-"

"Fuck." Slade filled in.

"I was going to say 'remain a couple'" Robin snorted.

"See? Told you I was no good at emotional mush." the man smirked.

"We have to tell the others!" Robin grinned and jumped out of bed.

"No." Slade said, and pulled him back in. "Not very scientific of you Robin… What should one do when one has a hypothesis?"

Robin blinked once and then smirked, winding his arms around the man's neck.

"Test it."

_The E-_

Beast Boy: Whooo-ho there, hold your horses… this is _it_, right? You're not gonna make me take the blame again to bring the bunnies back, are you?

No, BB… I'm not. Sorry about that…

Beast Boy: sure you are... and what if some other reader wishes for a hop-hop-hop-drabble again? I know you! You'll cave!

I might be a pushover, but, my dear grass-stain, remember the time you so expertly lost? I can always put the story anywhere in there…

Beast Boy: I hate you a little.

I'm sure you're not alone… especially not now…

Beast Boy: you deserve every flame you get! Really… Robin and Slade as bunnies? It was a horrible idea from the start!

I liked it… they are cute!

Beast Boy: _Horrible_! Now go write something people can actually read without having to fear for their health!

Okay… I have no idea what the next prompt will be, though…

Beast Boy: Can't get any worse!

Oh, shut up! I love my bunny-boys! People drew pics of them too! I'm not alone!

Beast Boy: Well one insane person often attracts others… that's how cults get started…

OOOhhh… bunny-cult…

Beast Boy: I'm just going to go now… -flees-

* * *

A/N: Sorry about that… so… the very evil prompt was : "jingle bells in his pants". When I first read that, I stared at the screen, my brain completely blank, and then, when I continued reading, I saw that the universe wished for was this one, and I relaxed a little bit, thinking that if I could work that into ANY universe, it would be this… please tell me I did okay? ;)


	10. 10 Closeted Desires

**Friday 10 December**

Merry Christmas** AnimePhoenixReborn!**

Pairing: SladinX

World: Freestanding

Genre: Mostly PWP (Plot? What Plot?), but I'm having fun with it… ;)

Warnings: three-some, naturally… otherwise… nah.. you'll live.

You'll find out the prompt in the bottom A/N.

**

* * *

**

Closeted Desires

Robin loved being one step ahead of Slade. Like now, finding one of the man's lairs… although, lair? It was a large penthouse apartment. Robin had seen the criminal access it from the roof a few days earlier and, after making sure that the man actually wasn't robbing the place, Robin had decided not to attack but to actually, believe it or not, try to think things through first.

* * *

So here he was. Inside the apartment, looking around, hoping to find some clues to the man's identity, his past, present, and more importantly; future plans. Staying ahead… it was all that mattered. He had chosen to come here in the middle of the afternoon. It had been night when he had spotted Slade, and Robin was pretty sure the guy was a night-owl, which meant that he should be safe.

He had just checked the place over quickly, but was now ready to really start snooping around. It was a large apartment, but mostly open plan, so there was only one bedroom with a king-size bed and not much else. The kitchen had the essentials, but didn't appear to be used much. The larger living-area was interesting however, mostly because it was empty too. Not completely empty, but there was no TV, sofa, dining-table or anything else normally associated with such a room. Instead there were weights stacked around the wall, as well as training weapons like bo-staffs and wooden swords. A bench and rack for bench pressing were also present, but most of the floor-space was left free.

It was a gold-mine for Robin. Sure, there were no piles of papers, maps and folders saying "plans for my next crime" on them, but there were bound to be fingerprints around here somewhere. Slade couldn't use gloves _everywhere_, and Robin had no qualms about looking in the bathroom either. He might consider doing worse for some DNA.

* * *

Before he got the chance, however, a faint sound was heard and Robin shrank back into the shadows. There was a creak from the roof and the teen's heart started pounding. Someone was coming! Robin was close to a broom-closet, and, seeing no way out, decided to hide. As he opened the door his rapidly beating heart almost stopped. He had never been so close to a total heart attack before.

"_You_!"

"Shhh! Shut up and get in here before he hears you!"

A hand shot out of the darkness and pulled Robin inside.

"What the hell are _you_ doing here?" Robin half hissed, half snarled.

"Wait and you'll see for yourself…" Red X snickered, the skull-design on his mask glowing eerily in the dark. "If you shut up, that is, or we'll probably be dead before we get to the good part."

"What _good_ part?" Robin growled.

"Just hush, kid!" Red X told him and actually waved a finger in Robin's face. Robin's eyes had adjusted to the darkness enough so he could see a bit more than the skull. Some light was coming in, Robin discovered, because the door wasn't completely closed. As he moved to do so, the thief pulled him back.

"Stop, are you crazy? We're gonna miss the fun!"

"You keep _talking_ about it, but when does it_ start_?" Robin muttered.

"About now…" Red X whispered in his ear, and Robin swallowed as a shadow passed through the beam of light, breaking it for a second.

* * *

It was the sounds, the clink of metal, which drew Robin closer to the crack in the door. Red X was right behind him, peering out as well. What Robin saw made him gasp and almost stumble backwards.

"What? You never seen him without his mask before?" the thief asked smugly. "I've done that_ thousands _of times."

"Shut up." Robin hissed.

"_Now_ you get it…" Red snickered. "Come on… let's enjoy the show."

* * *

Robin leaned forwards again. His brain was boiling over with impressions and possibilities. One part was so overwhelmed it didn't quite knew what to do, and wanted him to kinda jump up and down and giggle insanely, an action which would most likely get him killed. Another one tried desperately to plot out the face, every hair, every skin-variation and every angle, committing them to memory. A third party merely marveled over some of the details, like the eye-patch and the way the string to it seemed to have a little knot in it. The short beard was also a surprise. That part soon began to go a bit overboard, noting the man's lips, which seemed to have a bit of a smirk on them, as well as the grey-blue eye-color. Robin had always thought the color was darker, maybe because the mask placed it in shadow.

"He's…" Robin whispered.

"Yeah, I know…" Red X answered. "But you ain't seen nothing yet."

* * *

Robin snorted softly, but the sound wasn't followed by any words, because the man outside started to take off his armor. Robin, of course, knew Slade was ripped, but the metal plates had hidden the curves of the muscles, especially on his chest and stomach, making him appear more angular and robotic. The man across the room was _very_ much human.

The armor was placed meticulously on the floor, and then the man reached for the hem of his black, long-sleeved top. Robin held his breath as it came off, baring more skin and more bulging muscle. The trail of hair leading downwards from the man's navel had Robin swallowing.

Slade who, Robin noted with some sense of approval, was apparently a rather neat man, folded the top and then bent down to remove his boots and socks as well, leaving him barefoot. The stupid, gleeful, part o Robin's mind was focusing on the fact that the man wore socks, although it would be slightly crazy to go without in boots like those. The more adventures part of him wanted to know about the underwear.

* * *

The teen tensed as Slade started to move, but he only crossed the room and went into the kitchen, filling a water-bottle. As Robin started to breathe again, he noticed how close Red X was to him, practically plastered against his back.

"Hey, get back!" Robin muttered and shoved the other teen a little. "Ever heard of personal space?"

"Like a thief cares about boundaries…" the other snorted. "Besides, you can't have any _real _fun without doing a bit of…_ invading_…"

"Are you flirting with me?" Robin asked, glancing out to make sure Slade was still far away. "Don't bother. Not only am I straight, I also have standards."

"Straight? You?" Red X laughed quietly. "Sorry, kid, but you were drooling over Slade a moment ago."

"Was not! And, besides, he's _Slade_…" The hero tried, and failed, to explain.

"So you'll be gay for Slade, then?" Robin couldn't see it, but the teasing smirk might just as well been painted on the mask.

"No! Go to hell!" Robin, lacking arguments, growled.

"As long as I can take Slade with me…" the invisible smirk somehow turned lewder. "Now shut up and enjoy or get out of the closet… oh… no… I guess you'll refuse to do that, right kid?"

"I'm not _in_ a closet!" Robin objected, before realizing how untrue that was.

"Well… I believe you are. Literally _and_ otherwise." the thief chuckled. "Besides- Oh… he's coming back!"

The teens united in being silent and watching as Slade returned with a water bottle and a towel. The man went over to the windowsill, where a small radio was standing, and turned it on. The station was playing its slogan, and Robin immediately recognized it as one of his own favorites, as it mixed news with both popular music and older hits, making it easy listening without risking him missing out on important events. Again Robin felt that strange sense of approval.

* * *

Slade didn't bother with warming up, although he might have done that on the way here, seeing how his skin shone, Robin reckoned. That was a logical conclusion, based on dispassionate observation only, he told himself. His eyes had absolutely not roamed over the body now busy lifting weights, and, though he was impressed by the bulging muscles in a purely athletic sense, he was in no way feeling tingly or hotter. No way.

* * *

Slade moved on through every muscle-group, something which was very familiar to Robin, although he usually didn't watch other guys doing it… and especially not quite that avidly. Again Red X was way too close, but the hero found it impossible to gather the will to push him away.

* * *

Jealousy about the amount of weight that Slade put onto the bar, just for starters, when the man prepared to bench-press, was somewhat pushed to the back of Robin's mind as Slade laid down. The way his legs spread and the angle-

"Yeah, you're not gay at all, panting like that, checking out a man's package…" Red whispered merrily.

Robin, who had forgotten that the other guy was even there, jumped a little.

"I'm not! I'm just… I just looked to see if he wore a cup, okay? That could be quite valuable to know in an emergency." Robin was proud of himself for that one.

"Well… obviously he's _not_. Slade is_ waaaaay_ too cocky. Bad pun intended." Red snickered.

"I hate you. You used to be just _annoying_, but now I hate you." Robin hissed.

"Hey, you'll thank me one day… if only for pointing out the obvious… and maybe for fucking you to heaven and back, but sure, we can take things slow." the thief said generously, leaving Robin growling and swearing under his breath. In the end the hero decided to ignore Red, however. He had more interesting things to do. Like watching Slade. In a non-gay way.

* * *

It was then Slade fastened a human-shaped sand-filled leather target to the ceiling and began doing martial-art routines that things started to get really interesting. Robin was slightly worried about becoming schizophrenic, as one part of him drank in the technique, trying to learn every move, and the other part was-

Robin stopped himself. _Not _drooling. No. He liked _girls_. Okay, so he had actually never liked girls in_ that_ way, but he had always figured that it was because he was keeping a bit too busy, and that those kinds of feelings would develop naturally, at some point along the line. They never had, not even in his wet dreams, which were usually rather hazy and seemed to involve a curious amount of fighting.

Robin blinked. Could it be true? No, surely not? He was intelligent, for goodness sake, he would have figured out something like that _years _ago… and instead a damn criminal had called him on it. Well. As a world where Red X was right and Robin was wrong couldn't _possible _exist, that was the end of that. He was straight and- oh lord…

* * *

Slade had just taken a sip of water. The side of himself Robin agreed with, pointed out that the bottle would be great for both fingerprints and DNA samples. The other part of him just wanted to _be_ the bottle. Slade dribbled some water into his hand and wiped his face. Drops escaped, travelling down the man's chest and abs until they were swallowed by the black fabric of his trousers. Robin's eyes followed avidly, his tongue coming out to lick at his lips.

* * *

The man grabbed the towel and, drying his face and chest, he turned towards them. He smirked. Robin sensed the danger immediately, and suddenly Slade had a gun in his hand.

"Are you boys coming out of there, or do I have to come in and get you?"

"Fuck!" Robin heard Red hiss.

"Well? Let's just say that it will be less painful for you if you'd just come out…" the mercenary said.

Red X moved first, pushing past Robin and opening the door completely.

"Errr…. Hi? This your place? Sorry, took the wrong turn somewhere… I'll just go now…" the teen started.

The gun followed him, steadily aimed at his chest.

"Stop where you are. You seem to have taken a lot of wrong turns for the last couple of weeks. Robin, though…" the man's eye focused on the hero who was trying to subtly leave the small space and escape, "you are a surprise…"

"Surprised the hell out of me too, but it turns out that Robins likes being in closets…" the thief snickered.

"Shut up, you little-" Robin started.

"Let's not fight, boys. Stand closer together. Good. Hands on your head."

* * *

They both obeyed. If Slade had been holding a bo-staff or a wooden sword, Robin would have attacked by now, but, since he wasn't Superman, speeding bullets were not his play-mates. Maybe he would have tried anyway, if it wasn't for Red X. He couldn't risk endangering the other teen, no matter how annoying or wrong he was. Robin's eyes never left Slade's however. He hoped the man would make some sort of mistake, because maybe a smoke bomb would even out the situation somewhat.

"It's too open here. Move into the bedroom, please." Slade said. "I believe both of you know the way."

"One of my fantasies starts like this…" Red X grinned as he walked. "Although with fewer guns and birds… But I'm not picky about the last one, Robin can stay."

"Shoot him. Please." the hero growled.

"Be careful what you wish for, Robin." Slade said smoothly behind them, and Robin clenched his teeth shut. He had no idea how this might end. They had seen his face, but, on the other hand, Slade seemed to have known about Red X, so why hadn't the man done something before? Robin was about to get that question answered.

"Before you decide to spy on someone next time, try to remember to keep quiet? I could hear you from the moment I came in." Slade told them as the teens reluctantly shuffled into the bedroom. Robin glanced at the window. It was a long drop, but he had his grapple-hook…

"It was all Robin's fault." Red X claimed. "The guy just couldn't stop panting about how gorgeous you are."

"I was just here to gather evidence alone! I had no intention of pant- spying!" Robin claimed vehemently. "I didn't know Red was here, and I sure as hell didn't know about your work-out-sessions!"

"See? I'm the only one who cares about you." Red said in a sad little puppy-voice.

"I'm sure you do." Slade answered dryly. "Now, boys… I want you to follow my instructions to the letter, and this just might not end badly, are we clear?"

Robin gave a curt nod, mirrored by a more enthusiastic one from Red.

"Good." Slade continued. "Now, the one I'm not talking to will keep his hands on his head, understood? Good. Now, Red. Unbuckle Robin's belt and throw it over here. If I see your fingers as much as twitch towards a pocket, I'll shoot them off."

"Can they twist towards something else?" Red asked, seemingly completely unconcerned about the threat.

"If they do_ I'll_ make sure you'll lose them." Robin growled.

"You are such a prude it's almost insulting." the thief sighed and very deftly took Robin's belt off. As he had slid it across the floor to Slade, the man kicked it well out of reach behind him.

"Your turn Robin." Slade told him.

"And feel free to grope." Red X told him.

"As if." Robin muttered under his breath.

* * *

Robin felt naked without his belt, and next they were ordered to remove their gloves and boots, both containing several hidden gadgets, something Slade seemed to be aware off.

"Good." Slade was leaning casually against the wall, seemingly relaxed, but the gun never wavered. "Your capes next, I think. Red X, you start."

Robin glared daggers at the man, but the small smirk only seemed to grow. The thief had a little trouble getting the cape off, but Robin had the advantage of being the one who had designed the other teen's suit.

"Your shirts next, please." Slade said.

"What? Why?" Robin objected.

"Kid, arguing with the guy with the gun is stupid." Red X said. "Just thought I'd let you know."

"It is only fair, Robin. After all, you have been spending the last hour watching me half naked… It's my turn." The smirk turned into an amused chuckle.

"But I never-"

"Strip. Now." Slade snapped at them, the words and the tone of voice making both teens startle.

Robin blushed as he pulled both his red tunic and his green T-shirt over his head at the same time, preferring to take the plunge instead of going slowly and painfully, so to speak. He blushed even deeper as he glanced over at Red X. It was clear that when the teen wasn't out robbing places he was either at the gym or at the beach… or hiding in the closets of super villains.

"Nice. I'm starting to enjoy this…" Slade almost purred.

Robin couldn't help it, he had shuffled just a little bit closer to Red, worried about the tone in the man's voice. It seemed Slade might be enjoying this a little _too_ much.

"Yeah, you're not wrong…" Red X chuckled next to Robin, and the hero had a feeling that there would be no support to be found there either. "Damn, you're hot, Robin… Do us a favor and wear a really skin-tight top from now on, okay?"

"Not exactly on my priority-list at the moment." Robin hissed, but, involuntary, he felt a little bit pleased.

"There, there, boys… you can argue later. Now for the more interesting part… Robin, remove Red X's mask."

"What!" Both teens stared at the man in front of them, and Red had taken a step back.

"Was my order in any way unclear?" Slade asked innocently.

"You… You can't make us do that!" Robin objected, knowing that he would be next.

"I can't? But you've seen _my_ face… fairness, Robin, don't you remember?"

"Yes, but-" the teen started, but stopped as there was a click from the gun. Slade had taken the safety off.

"Don't make me repeat myself, or Red won't have a head left to even _wear_ a mask." the mercenary growled.

Robin turned towards the other teen.

"Sorry." he muttered.

"Yeah… likewise. I hate it when they play dirty…" Red didn't sound at all amused now.

Robin pulled the mask up, revealing pouting lips, a rather freckly nose and a pair of pale green eyes. A wild mop of longish red hair completed the picture, and Robin threw the mask over to Slade, like they had done with everything else.

"Hmmm… had I know I had such a beauty in my closet, I would have acted sooner…" Slade smirked. "On the other hand, if I had, I would have missed out on the bonus… Red, I believe it's Robin's turn."

The hero took a big breath as Red's fingers started scraping along the edge of the mask.

"Err… how do I do this? I mean, do I just pull, or…?"

"Yeah, don't worry, it's a special adhesive, it won't hurt." Robin said. "Just find an edge and pull quickly."

The thief seemed to listen to him for once, because he did as he was told. Robin winced as the mask was ripped away and then thrown across the room.

"Kid?" Red X said, almost softly, and Robin looked up at him, an eyebrow raised. "Damn… That's colored contacts, right?"

"No." Robin shrugged, feeling a little embarrassed.

"That color is natural? It's amazing!" Red X exclaimed, Slade and his gun apparently forgotten.

"They are quite extraordinary, yes…" Slade said, having Robin glare at him again. "Now… what to do with you?"

"Slap our fingers, tell us not to do that again, and let us go?" Red suggested hopefully.

"No… I don't think so… you invaded my privacy, whatever your intentions… you have to compensate me… being gawked at like that might be considered flattering, but, on the other hand, one can chose to consider it humiliating as well… so… how to make things _fair_…?"

"This is ridiculous!" Robin barked. "You've already seen us half naked and without our masks, if you're not going to kill us then let us go! The only way it would be 'fair' is if you made us work out, but that's just-"

"A good idea…" Slade interrupted. "Although lifting weights… I don't know… When I think about it, I deserve something more than just getting even… You, Red has been making this perverted spying a habit, and Robin, you do tend to annoy me just a little bit more than what's good for your health… So I think you both _owe_ me something extra…" the man seemed to think things over for a moment. "Red, did you say you believe Robin's in the closet?"

"Err… yeah?" the thief said, shuffling his feet a little and glanced at the other teen. "But really, I was just teasing, he-"

"You better hope you're not wrong… because you have to prove that theory to me, or you're dead."

* * *

Robin paled.

"Prove? Prove how? Okay, okay, I'm gay! There… now let us go, you fucking bastard!" he snarled.

"I need more physical evidence than that…" Slade leered. "If only for my own entertainment. Red, you can start, for example, by kissing him."

"Come on… I mean, it's been fun, but… really?" the thief said.

Robin was glad for the objection, but he didn't think Slade was joking either, which made him worry for Red's life.

"Really." Slade said. "Have him beg me to fuck him, and you'll live."

"And me?" Robin growled. He had gone completely cold at Slade's words, but refused to show it. Up until now he had thought that the man might let them off with a bit of making out and groping, possibly a hand job or a blow job at worst, but this?

"You'll live if you come from it." the man smirked.

"Great. We're dead." Robin muttered.

"Oh, no, you'll both be fine…" Slade's grin had widened, and he seemed more teasing now than deadly. "Red X, this is a wet dream coming true for the both of us… let's show Robin how_ fun_ dreams can be, shall we?"

"Well… if you put it _that_ way…" the redhead grinned. "But hold back on the death threats… they do nothing for my little guy if you know what I mean?"

"Hey, wait! I don't want you two agreeing about _anything_!" Robin complained.

"Sorry. Too late." Red X chuckled. "Come here, you…"

Robin yelped as he the thief suddenly turned on him, grabbed him around his waist and kissed him deeply. As Red let go Robin had no idea if the kiss had lasted a second or an hour. His eyes were wide, he was panting and feeling somewhat disoriented. He had no idea that a kiss could feel like this. He thought they were soft and romantic and there was supposed to be strings and crap in the background… not this _raw_ and filled with lust.

_Well. Guess I'm gay then._ Robin thought to himself. He was a man of reason, and if the evidence all pointed in one direction, who was he to argue? Of course, some additional testing might be a good thing. He grabbed Red's neck and mashed their lips together.

"Wow… kid…" the thief panted as they broke apart or air.

"Right back at you…" Robin smirked. "Okay. I'm game." He turned towards the mercenary. "If you're game you better lose the gun, Slade. Red's right, it does nothing for the libido."

"Nice try my little bird, but what's to say that you won't escape if I do?" Slade asked.

"Are you planning to take a nap?" Robin asked. "Or are you afraid that you are too slow? Well… your loss." he shrugged and pushed Red X down on the bed. "If you just want to watch, then watch. If not, either leave or make yourself useful and get some lube."

Robin climbed in after the thief and the two were soon kissing feverishly.

* * *

"Heh… what happened to you?" Red asked him as Robin moved on down his neck. They were both already naked and rubbing against each other.

"I'd just figure I'd try it out… it felt good so why the hell not?"

"Because you are a prude, uptight hero?" the thief said.

"I'm sure you'll find out just how tight I am soon enough…" Robin grinned.

"I hope to experience that as well…" a voice purred above them.

Robin and Red X were on their sides right now, tightly ensnared, and Slade now straddled them both.

"_You_, mister," Red grinned, "can have anything you want."

"That's all I'm asking for… I'm not greedy…" Slade smirked back before leaning down and kissing the redhead.

Robin had no time to feel left out, because Slade's lips were soon claiming his too. The man's kiss made Robin completely certain that he had done the right thing by giving in. It wasn't like Red's playful and teasing ones, Slade's kiss was claiming and dominant, but Robin found himself being very okay with that. He couldn't help but nip at the man's bottom lip as they parted, however.

Red was wriggling downwards with a curious gleam in his eyes.

"S'cuse me, just gonna find out what we have to play with here…" he grinned and ran his hand over the growing bulge in Slade's pants. "Mmm… not bad…." he mumbled, more or less to himself, and started pulling at the man's trousers.

Robin found himself staring; he was rather embarrassed, but too fascinated to look away.

"Kid, considering all the blood it must take to fill this thing, I think Slade's pretty stupid when he's horny…" the thief announced, playing with the rapidly growing shaft.

"Err… Red? I don't think Slade threw the gun out the _window_…" Robin pointed out.

"I'm just saying he's big! He can't get angry about that!" Red X defended himself.

"Insulting my intelligence is not a good thing to do… but I'll forgive you if you suck me off." Slade said generously.

"Fair enough!" the thief grinned and dived for his treat. Robin found himself more than a little fascinated and equally turned on as he watched. Slade, however, seemed to feel that Robin had been a spectator for too long.

The teen gasped as one of his nipples was sucked into a hot mouth, and then bitten. A hand was then between his legs, fingers probing at his entrance.

"Unngh!" Robin moaned. "Where's that lube, Slade? Honestly, I tell you to do _one _thing-"

"Don't be pushy, little bird…" the man chuckled. "I'll go get it… in the mean time… Red, your tongue is divine, come here and get the little cry-baby wet."

"About being pushy…" the redhead chuckled and crawled over.

Robin had expected, and looked forwards to, a blowjob, and practically arched off the bed as the tongue landed somewhere else.

* * *

When Slade returned a moment later Robin was moaning and crying out his appreciation for Red in general and his tongue in particular, as the slick member fucked him.

"Move over." Slade told the thief, but Robin's legs clamped around him, making it impossible for Red to move.

"No… too good… just… a little… more…" the hero begged.

"I have a feeling you'll like my fingers just as much… and he can suck you while you try them." Slade told Robin firmly and pushed his knees apart.

Robin objected with a low growl, but as soon as Red had stopped the amazing treatment he had been doing, a slick finger slipped inside him. As it reached further and stretched him more, Robin decided not to be too upset at the mercenary for the moment.

"He's gonna cum if I suck him." Red said. "Wanna suck me instead, kid?"

Robin nodded. He did. He was very curious about the whole thing, but, honestly, if someone had suggested that he should pet a porcupine he would probably have nodded as well… getting fingered made Robin _very_ agreeable.

"You've got red hair down here too…" Robin commented as the other teen crawled up to him.

"Yeah, what, you thought I was a fake?" the other chuckled.

"Well, you _are _unusually tan for a redhead, aren't you?" Robin asked.

"Sheesh, kid, I just got amazing genes… more sucking and less analyzing." the thief suggested.

"I think we all have 'pushy' in common…" Robin almost snickered, and turned his head to the side. "Aw, I can't reach…" he complained.

"Turn over." Red suggested, and Robin did, with a little help from Slade, who definitely didn't mind having the teen on his hands and knees.

* * *

The first taste was a little weird, but not in a bad enough way to deter him. Robin soon was trying a lot of different ways to get Red X to make funny sounds. He was so absorbed in this that he didn't notice Slade adding another finger until the man boldly added a third.

"MMpff!" Robin groaned.

"Hurts?" the man behind him asked, and Robin gave a small shake of his head, as much as he could with Red's cock deep down his throat.

"Sorry kid, but I don't want you to suck me when he starts to fuck you… in case you want something to bite down on…" Red smirked and pulled back. Instead the redhead moved down getting on his back under Robin and started kissing him instead.

Robin felt a little worried because of Red's comment. Would it really hurt that much? The thief seemed to sense that the other wasn't completely into the kissing, and even understand why.

"Wanna fuck me?" Red asked Robin.

"Really?" Robin asked, sounding so surprised that the other two chuckled.

"Yeah, really… if Slade lubes you up."

"But… you're not ready…?" Robin said, gasping as a lubed hand closed over his cock and slid up and down the length.

"Was born ready, kid… not my first time…" Red X grinned, then raised his legs. He found the support he was looking for by putting his ankles over Slade's shoulders, and the man then helped Robin get into position, since the teen was now pretty much stuck between them.

"Its… it's too tight." Robin objected. "I'm going to hurt you!"

"Just push!" Red snorted. "Slade? Help him, please?"

Robin felt the man grab his hips and shove forwards.

"AH!" both teens cried out.

"That… it's so… good…" Robin panted, before trying to compose himself. "You okay?" he asked Red.

"_More _than okay…" the teen moaned blissfully. "You can move now."

"Move?" Robin asked stupidly. Of course he knew fucking involved thrusting, but this was just so good, he couldn't help but just wanting to stay still.

"Seems like you need to help him fuck me as well…" Red snickered.

"Don't you dare!" Robin snarled over his shoulder at the man, when Slade, chuckling, had grabbed his hips again. "I'll fuck you, Red... don't you worry…"

* * *

Robin rolled his hips forwards, slowly, closing his eyes and enjoying the tight heat. He then pulled out, still carefully, before sinking back in. Soon Red was panting beneath him, clinging to his shoulders, and Robin loved it.

Slade's fingers were back inside him, but that only added to the experience, and Robin missed them for a moment as they disappeared yet again.

"Ready?" Slade whispered in his ear.

"Y-yeah." Robin lied.

He had to keep rather still as Slade entered him, to Red's displeasure. Robin felt stretched to his limits as an impatient redhead pushed his hips upwards, making Slade's cock breach the hero. Robin cried out, but the pain was already receding, and only the strange fullness was left.

"Damn… fucking… hell… shit…" Robin groaned.

"Can I record you saying that later, I so want that for a ring-tone…" Red grinned.

"Oh, shut up." Robin smirked and pushed his hips forwards. This, however, made Slade's cock move inside him, and he gasped again, eyes bulging. "This… this feels too good… It…. It must be illegal…" he sighed.

"If we all shut up about our ages we'll be fine…" smirked the older teen.

"Just shutting up over all seems like a better idea to me." Slade muttered and pushed deeper inside Robin.

"…kay…" Robin agreed in a somewhat high voice. "Just… just do that again?"

Slade did, and soon none of them were displeased.

* * *

Somehow it felt like Slade was controlling both of them. As soon as Robin felt like he was on the brink, the man behind him slowed down, making both him and Red groan in frustration. Slade, it seemed were an expert at making things last until both teens were literally begging him to be allowed to come. Only then did the pace quicken and wasn't interrupted even when Robin cried out his release, immediately followed by Red. Slade lasted a second or two longer, but soon they were all one big gasping pile of arms and legs.

"Well…" Robin fought for breath and tried to figure out if the foot in front of his face might be his own or not. "I got what I came for…"

"You came here for a great fuck?" Red asked, surprised.

"Nope… a DNA-sample…" Robin grinned.

_The End._

* * *

A/N: **AnimePhoenixReborn's **prompt was "Closet" but she also added a summary of the story she wanted, and here it is: "It's been rumored that the Boy Wonder has been in the closet about his preferences... it just so happens he's somehow in Slade's closet... with Red X..." –that sounds great, doesn't it? ; )I hope I made it some justice…Oh, and I know that Robin suddenly deciding that the whole thing was a good idea, was OOC, but I didn't want it to non-con or dub-con, just fun-con! ;) ANd SLade was just messing with them the whole time, he wouldn't have hurt them... I think... He just wanted to see how far he could push them... pretty far, as it turned out... ;)


	11. 11 Staying or Going?

**Saturday 11 December**

Merry Christmas **Jayto**!

Pairing: Sladin

Universe: **Best Christmas Present Ever**

The prompt was a general anniversary-drabble… so what have Slade and Robin been up to the last year?

Warnings: domesticated fluff. Dress for it.

**

* * *

**

Staying or Going?

Robin sat curled up in his favorite reading-chair in Slade's- no, _their_ apartment, and flipped the pages of the diary Alfred had given him for Christmas last year. He had ended up adding the pages from the computer-log Cyborg had made as well, because that made the story the book was telling complete. The story of him and Slade. Robin chuckled to himself as his eyes browsed through those early days.

"What are you reading that is so funny?" Slade, who was sitting in the nearby sofa, asked with a smile.

"My diary." Robin answered. "I don't have many pages left in it now, so I thought I'd look back a little."

"Good. You always become very affectionate when you do…" the man smirked at him over his own book.

"Do not!" Robin laughed. He loved being able to just spend some quiet time here, in his 'home away from home'. He still mainly lived at the Tower, but both he had Slade had things at both places and seldom spent the nights apart unless work called. The man's bright apartment was much quieter and tidier than the Tower, however, and Robin appreciated those things a lot. He appreciated Slade a lot too… He grinned and made his way over to the man, snuggling up in the sofa next to him.

"Like I said. Affectionate." Slade chuckled and drew him closer with one arm, while the other was still holding the book.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're always right… do you remember what happened exactly one year ago today?" Robin asked.

"Please tell me I haven't missed some sort of anniversary?" Slade asked worriedly.

"No, no, no…" Robin chuckled. "You think I would have been affectionate if you had?" he added with a smirk.

"Probably not." the man concurred. "So… what happened?"

Robin flipped to the right page and scanned it.

"Hmmm… I almost convinced Kitten to buy you a pink suit." Robin grinned.

"I never punished you for that, did I? Long overdue I think…" Slade muttered. "As I recall, though, I got away with a pink shirt."

"Yeah… I wrote that you looked 'damn good'…" Robin admitted. "Oh, and that I've finished the masquerade costume… remember that?"

"How can I forget … you as a weird Toto…" Slade chuckled. "You_ did _make me want to drag you away by that leash though…"

"You should talk! Dressed as Kitten's slave!" Robin snorted.

"Not my proudest moment." Slade admitted.

"Still made me drool…" Robin chuckled.

"Don't worry, I don't think they_ all_ noticed…" the man smugly replied.

Robin just rolled his eyes and snuggled closer. He knew by now that he could never beat Slade in this sort of thing, at least not straight on. Besides, he had something else on his mind.

"You're leaving tonight, right?" he asked, somewhat grumpily.

"Yes, but I'll be back in three days, four tops. I hate to do it, I just got home from another business-trip after all… Your dad's working me hard."

"I can't believe you two managed to become friends…" Robin almost complained.

"Well, Wayne Enterprises are one of my biggest clients. If it weren't for my security-expertise, they would have lost a lot of money… and Bruce prefers his wallet full."

"He does not!" Robin objected. "Well, he's not _like_ that, I mean… I think he actually almost likes you."

"I actually almost like him too. We have a lot in common… as long as we don't discuss _you_ too much, we're fine." Slade shrugged and finally put the book down on the coffee-table. "And speaking about you… maybe a few more love bites on your neck will keep others away from you while I'm gone?"

"You keep _everyone_ away…" Robin chuckled. "Jump has been almost peaceful since we became an official couple last year… it's strange that you still have such respect among the criminals… if it weren't for Red X, we would be reduced to catching shoplifters…"

"I might not be one of them anymore, but they all know that if they hurt you, that little detail would most likely slip my mind… at least long enough to make them suffer." Slade growled against Robin's neck.

"Be a good boy, Slade… Think of me, what if I get bored?" Robin smirked.

"With me? Don't you dare!" the man warned, his grin playful. "Besides, if you don't have anything to do, you can always start working with me… I'm sure you would be very good at it."

"I can?" Robin blinked. "I mean… I… Well, I'm a Titan…"

"Sure, but unless you are planning to expand, the Titans can take it pretty easy nowadays, as you said… The crime-rate will probably start growing again within a year or so, but until then, why not try something else in between?"

"That… might actually be fun…" Robin had felt rather unchallenged lately. Petty street-crime just didn't do it for him, even the H.I.V.E had relocated and Red X refused to fight him, afraid that Slade would have his hide if he happened to get a hit in. The most Robin could hope for was a good chase, but the epic battles seemed long gone.

"Tell you what… pack a bag… come with me tonight. Let's make this a combined work and anniversary trip." Slade suggested. "The work might not be that exciting, but at least it's different… and it's in Gotham."

"I'm already calling the team!" Robin grinned. "Hi guys! Everything's quiet? Yeah, I'm thinking of getting out of town for a few days. Slade's going to Gotham and I'd like to tag along, would that be all right?" Robin listened for a while, and Slade knew from experience that the speaker-phone was on at the other side, and all the Titans were now busy asking questions and making demands. Robin chuckled. "Four or five days. Yes, I'll say hello to Bruce and Selina. Yeah, I'll look for that part but text me the serial number, I don't have a pen, and yes, I'll buy presents."

"Better make that a week…" Slade muttered.

"Slade says it might take a week now…" Robin grinned. "Actually, let's decide a week… Yes, Star, it is a 'romantic endeavor' as well… Yeah, BB, we're busted… watch it or you won't get a present. Raven, you call me if anything comes up, won't you? Thanks… See you in a week!" Robin hung up and then frowned. "Oh, I 'm not sure I have enough clothes here…"

"If you are thinking about underwear, don't bother… you won't need them." the man smirked.

"Hey, I thought we were going to _work_?" Robin snorted.

"I'm sure we'll get around to that as well." Slade promised.

"Pfft… knowing you Bruce will be robbed blind…" Robin smirked. "Oh, I have to call him!" After a moment Robin grinned into the phone. "Hi Al! Is Bruce home? Oh? No, no don't disturb them, I wouldn't want to walk in on that either… We're going to Gotham tonight! Yeah, me and Slade, he has some work to do for- oh, Bruce told you? Great, well, I'm coming too… gonna work with him, shop for some Christmas-presents… Really? We can? I think Slade had planned on a hotel, but staying at the manor would be great!" Robin said, ignoring Slade's gestures which rather clearly showed that the man thought the opposite. "Just get us a room away from Bruce, please. Will you tell him? We should be arriving for… lunch or so, at least. No, it's a commercial flight, but if we can't get an extra ticket we'll just charter a small jet… Great! Yes, he likes raspberries… okay, love you! See you soon! Bye!"

"Raspberries?" Slade asked.

"He's going to make a pie." Robin explained. "Oh, we must bring him some rose-hip soup! And why don't you want to stay at the manor?"

"Because I want to be able to fuck you as hard as always without a certain bat bursting in to rescue you or glaring at me over the breakfast table the next morning." Slade complained.

"No one will hear anything, and if _they_ hear_ us_, we'll hear _them_, and that evens things out." Robin rolled his eyes but then shivered. "Damn, I hope I don't hear anything…"

"I'm surprised they are still together." Slade said.

"I'm sure many say the same about us." Robin shrugged. "If it works, it works… There's just one thing that makes me really depressed about all this…"

"What?" Slade asked.

"Well, as you were going away, I was planning on seducing you for a few hours of 'I'm-gonna-miss-you'-sex… but I guess we could just play cards or something." Robin sighed.

Slade snorted and rolled over, trapping the teen against the back of the sofa.

"Guess again."

_The End._

* * *

A/N: Too short? Yes, it was short, but I don't really think you need to read any more awkward Slade/Bruce interaction, because you've seen enough of that and will see more… punch me if I'm wrong… This was just, as the warning said, "Domesticated fluff", showing a rather normal evening at home for our favorite couple… a glimpse of the past and a glimpse of a possible future… ;)


	12. 12 Lucky

**Sunday 12 December**

Happy Christmas **Teania**!

Well, **Teania** wanted to check up on my OC's from **Black Sheep 2**, just to see how they were doing before Black Sheep 3 starts… That was nice, right? ; ) So here's a bit of Flame/Speedy/Aqualad and Shield/Shift from that universe, with Slade/Robin of course. This is the second of the three Black Sheep stories in this Christmas collection…

Warnings: Nah. Threesome-relationship of course _mentioned_, though.

Thank you to **The Villain's Vindication **who helped me with a Spanish expression for Mas y Menos!

**

* * *

**

Lucky

"Focus on your breathing. Be calm. Find you inner center."

"Nah, come on, just go for it! Let loose!"

Flame looked between Aqualad and Speedy, his two boyfriends, and wondered how two so different people could ever agree on anything.

"Hey, your hair is doing that strange color-flickering thing again, you look like a disco." Speedy told him with a snicker.

"He just needs to center, and you're not helping!" Aqualad objected.

"Pffft! He's just gonna blast a couple of boulders, just, like, _blast_ them!" the archer made a vague magic-throwing-gesture with his arm.

Flame smiled. With all this, they still agreed on _one_ thing; they both liked _him_, _and_ each other… not something to be sneezed at, even if he did say so himself. There was such a thing as too much help, however.

"If you two would just take a few steps back, kay?" he grinned. Turning towards the rocks at the end of the training-grounds, he grew a deep breath. A moment later the rocks crumbled. Not blown to smithereens, and not merely scorched, but crumbled, just like he wanted. Flame grinned happily as he found himself in the middle of a group hug. He had become much better in just the last week.

After the horrible incident in the H.I.V.E, he had been almost afraid to use his powers, but the way Robin had helped him before, had taught Flame that it _did_ help to practice, and that was something his lovers were very keen on too. Well. Most of the time.

* * *

The group-hug had turned into a bit more like a make-out session, when something swished up to them. Two of the youngest members of the team appeared, blurted out something in Spanish and ran away again.

"Did anyone catch that?" Speedy asked and scratched his head.

"Something about Bumble Bee, wasn't it?" Flame said.

"We'd better get back, then…" Aqualad shrugged.

"Yeah, either dinner's ready or we've done something horrible again." Speedy muttered. "Flame? Be a sweetheart and go on ahead and find out?"

"Coward." the magic-user grinned. "I'm not taking any of your heat."

"You did this morning…" the archer purred, making the other two roll their eyes.

* * *

It turned out that they were not in trouble however. As they entered the main living-room, Bumble Bee grinned at them.

"Robin and Slade are coming for a visit!"

"Really?" Flame and Speedy cried out at the same time. "Great!"

"Robin has completely recovered then?" Aqualad smiled.

"Yes. They are leaving Gotham to go back to Jump, but they are stopping by here first… and, guess what, Flame? Shield and Shift are coming along too!"

Flame was really glad to be able to see his old roommate again. They had all, Shield, Magpie, Anne and him, kept in contact for the last weeks, after the fall of the H.I.V.E, and he hoped they would be able to keep it up.

"Great… I wonder if we have enough mirrors for Shift, though…?" he smirked.

* * *

Robin got his arms full of two very happy teens as the elevator opened. Everything was hugs and smiles around him, until Slade had had enough and simply plucked Robin out from the frenzy and pinned him possessively against his chest.

"Why can't you two never learn not to touch what's not yours?" the man growled at Speedy and Flame.

"Shut it, Slade, they are my friends!" Robin snorted, half struggling in the grip.

"Yeah! Damn cock-blocker…" Speedy grinned and deftly moved out of reach of the man.

The rest of the Titans East had gathered around as well, greeting them with smiles instead of dangerous hugs. Shift and Shield just appeared behind Slade, and received their own enthusiastic welcome.

"Your throat's better?" Bumble Bee said to Robin, who had finally escaped Slade's clutches. "You really scared us there…"

"Sorry 'bout that…" Robin grinned. "But, yeah, much better. Raven's going to take a look at the scar when we get home, hopefully she can make if go away completely."

"And I'm alive, thank you." muttered a pouting voice to the side.

"Shift!" his boyfriend sighed.

"What? I almost died too… and now I'm stuck as a guy…" he muttered, like that was a horrible thing.

"But it's getting better, right?" Flame asked, his hair a worried blue.

"Yeah, I can change my hair and eye-color now…" the shifter said and demonstrated by suddenly sporting short black hair and blue eyes. Robin didn't really like the stolen combination, and glared warningly at Slade to make sure the man didn't look intrigued. After a moment the shifter turned back to his normal appearance, which had, since his collapse, consisted of straight blond hair which reached quite a bit down his back, and pale blue-green eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, you'll be able to turn into a fluffy poodle in no time…" Robin smirked.

Before the greetings were over with the alarm started blaring.

"Trouble down town." Speedy reported after running to the surveillance equipment to check.

"Titan's GO!" Robin ordered, and then froze mid step before blushing. "Errr… Sorry Bee…"

"That's all right." the young woman laughed as the rest of the team snickered. "You're welcome to help. Come on guys, you heard him!"

"Damn, I miss my team…" Robin chuckled.

"Can I come?" Shield asked.

"Sure, the more the merrier. " Bumble Bee decided. "Shift? Slade?"

"Not a fighter." Shift shrugged and studied his nails.

"Not a team player." Slade smirked.

"Suit yourselves. Let's go!" Bumble Bee ordered.

* * *

They returned two hours later, tired, a little bruised, but happy.

Slade must have followed their process closely through the news and security, because he met them at the door and pointed to a large pile of takeout food, thus involuntary being named the greatest hero of the day.

Shift appeared within a second as well, and critical eyes studied every inch of Shield before he was convinced that the mountain of a man was unhurt. After that, the slim blond attached himself to his boyfriend's arm, fussing over a small scratch and some dirt on his clothes.

"So, what's your plan, Shield?" Speedy asked as they sat down to eat. "Gonna stay in Gotham?"

"Yes, at least as a base of operations." the dark-skinned teen nodded. "I'm looking into body-guard work… My pretty here's gonna be my secretary, ain't you, honey?" he asked the blond, who sniffed.

"In your dreams… you know I can't be nice to customers! I'm thinking of modeling…" Shift said airily. "If you can't support me, that is…"

"I can, but only if you ditch the labels…" Shield snorted.

"I might as well be naked!" the blond gasped.

"Yes, why not…?" his boyfriend leered.

"You are horrible…" Shift muttered.

"Hey, you used to dress in a black H.I.V.E uniform all the time." Flame shrugged, still having trouble understanding what Shield saw in the vain guy… especially since he now _was _a guy, full time, and Shield had always claimed to be straight.

"Exactly!" Shift exclaimed. "My skin now craves _couture_!" The blond said it all with a little smile, however, showing them all that he was not _completely _serious.

Robin leaned into Slade for a moment.

"What would you say if I demanded that you supported _me_?" he grinned.

"I'd only ask for your body in return, then wear you out within a week and dump you back onto the Titan's doorstep." the man smirked.

"I think you'd make him the happiest man on earth if you would ask that…" Bumble Bee snickered. "Slade would spoil you rotten…"

"Yeah, right…" Robin snorted, blushing.

"Of course I would, princess…" Slade smirked at him.

"Oh, shut up." Robin muttered. "So, Flame, how have you been? You fought really well out there today."

"Thanks, it's going much better!" the teen said, his hair a blushing pink. "The guys are helping me out. Are you going back to Jump?"

"Yeah, we're leaving tomorrow." Robin said. "I miss my team… I really need to be a full-fledged hero for a while again."

"Horrible, isn't it?" Slade tried for some sympathy, but only got grins. "You would think that after two adventures with me, he would know where he belongs."

"… seems like he can't wait to escape you…" Speedy chuckled. "Maybe you should retire from bird-chasing, Slade?"

"Don't upset Robin." the man smirked. "He _thrives_ on being chased… and especially being caught."

"Let's change the subject." Robin muttered.

"Oh?" Slade grinned. "Why? Don't you want your friends to know what happens once I catch you?"

"I think most of them have a fair idea, but you will end up being forced to give 'the Talk' to the twins." Robin nodded at Mas y Menos, who were following the conversation with rather big eyes and ears. "Is it worth it?"

"Maybe not." The man reluctantly shrugged. "Very well. No more of me alluding to the fact that you love it when I shove my fat cock up your tight little ass."

"SLADE!" Robin shouted.

"Aye dios mio!" the twins mumbled, while the rest of the group all but fell over laughing.

* * *

A bit later Flame took Robin to see his new room, and the Titan leader got confused as they traveled downwards. As he saw the rather large bedroom, however, he understood why.

"This is really cool…" he grinned, looking at the almost cave-like room with a big, dark pool of water in the corner. "Does that lead outside?"

"Yeah, it's an underwater tunnel, so Aqualad can get away when it all gets to be a little too noisy for him." Flame explained.

"When_ I_ get a little too noisy you mean…" Speedy chuckled and came in with the Atlantean in tow.

"Which is at least four times a day…" the black eyes teen sighed with a smirk.

"Oh, _some_ noises you like…" the redhead pouted.

"Some noises I_ love_…" the other nodded. "But thank Poseidon I have Flame around so I can love someone for his intellect as well… or I would feel very shallow." Aqualad grinned and pulled the energy-user closer for a kiss.

Robin grinned as Flame's hair turned red. Where Speedy was exceedingly extrovert, Aqualad was usually much cooler and held back, so the former villain-in-training might not be as used to that kind of open affection from him.

As there were few places to sit in the sparsely furnished room, Robin plopped down on the bed, which was large enough to fit three comfortably.

"So you all live here together?"

"Yeah… with Flame we kinda took the plunge…" Speedy admitted. "It's nice, although fish-boy here loves to come to bed soaked."

"That happened _once_! I was just so tired I forgot you were here when I came back from my swim…" Aqualad muttered.

"See? He forgets about us! We mean _nothing_ to him!" Speedy burst out in a very fake overly-dramatic cry.

"I feel the need for another swim coming on…" Aqualad sighed.

"Awww… poor you… I'll protect you!" Flame promise and held the other's ears.

* * *

Robin grinned, feeling a little prick of jealousy inside. They were so lucky. They could live together, work together and love each other. He wished he had something like that… the thing with Slade, though, it was… complicated. Every time he even thought about the L-thing with the man in mind, he shied back… the thought of saying something out loud, if only to see what it felt like, made him terrified… The mercenary would probably just stand up and walk out the door, not even looking back, if he did… and Robin didn't want that.

_I __WANT to be his princess…_

"Hey, Rob, what's with the sad face?" Speedy asked him suddenly.

Robin startled and looked up. He then grinned as he stood from the bed.

"Oh, sorry. Just tired… and I just had some sort of very ugly psychotic breakdown."

"See, Speedy?" Aqualad said. "One _can_ have those _quietly_. Learn from him. Seriously, though, Robin, are you okay?"

"Yes, yes, just fine… some weird thought in my head, that's all."

"_How_ weird?" Speedy wanted to know. "Because if it's a foursome, it's not weird. Hell, invite Slade too."

"Your whole _mind_ is an orgy." Robin snorted and punched the redhead on the arm.

"Thanks." the teen grinned.

"That wasn't a compliment." Aqualad told him.

"But we love you anyway." Flame let him know.

"I think you both need to prove that…" Speedy told them sternly. "Robin, you in?"

"No, dumbass." Robin chuckled. "I'll go find Slade, see you in the morning."

"Well, when you see him, at least _ask_!" Speedy called out after him. "Or send down Shield and Shift!"

Robin rolled his eyes to himself as he, still chuckling, left the room.

* * *

"I let you run off for a few minutes and you come back looking depressed… did you miss me that much?" Slade asked as Robin entered the guest bedroom.

"Just tired." the teen repeated. "Oh, and Speedy wonders if we want to join them for an orgy."

"No, we don't." Slade said sternly.

"I just promised I'd ask." Robin grinned and then yawned. He let himself be coaxed into bed pretty easily, and kissed the man as he stretched out next to him. "It will be great going home tomorrow. I want to make sure Cyborg is okay after everything that happened…" Robin mumbled against Slade's neck. He then took a deep breath and asked the question he had feared. "You... you are going back to Jump as well, right?"

"Of course I am. Why else would I waste my time visiting yet _another _group of annoying heroes, tripping over hyped up super speeded kids, having to protect you from being molested by some of them, and almost swatting their leader to death with a newspaper?" Slade asked.

"Poor you." Robin grinned, finally relaxing a little bit.

"Make it up to me."

"You and Speedy are so much alike sometimes…" Robin snorted.

"Insulting me won't do the trick." Slade growled.

"Oh… well… will this?" Robin asked and started to crawls downwards.

"You know what? It just might…" the man smirked.

Robin smiled up at him as he undid the man's zipper. Their relationship might be confusing and frustrating sometimes, but the threesome downstairs were not the only lucky ones in the building.

* * *

Flame smiled to himself as he lay entangled with his lovers, one on each side of him. It was all very new, they had only known each other for a few weeks and he was still a bit insecure about his place on the team and his abilities. Seeing Robin again had been wonderful, though, because despite the huge crush he had had on the blue-eyed teen, he now only loved him like a brother or close friend.

Flame still thought that Robin was hot, in a general way, but there were no other feelings in the way… instead his feelings for his old heroes, the stunning sexy heroes from his dorm wall poster, only grew each day. He knew that, whatever the future would bring, at least he would never be bored… he was very lucky indeed.

_The End_

* * *

A/N: sorry about the lack of smex, if that's what you wanted, but I just can't, as I think I've mentioned before, just force it in everywhere you know… ;) (pun intended) Besides, it's Sunday… and yeah, I'm an atheist, but it's a good excuse and I'm using it!

Love you all!

/W


	13. 13 Out of the Loop

**Monday 13 December**

Merry Christmas** Rezolutionary!**

Universe: **Terms **

Pairing: Slade/ Robin, Speedy/Red X

A fun prompt word turned into this little drabble-joke-thingy… ;)

**

* * *

**

Out of the Loop

"Mum, dad, have I told you lately that I love you?" Red X sighed from his deck-chair.

"You don't love _us_, you love our pool." Robin smirked from where he was doing backstrokes in the water.

"Same thing, innit?" the thief mumbled.

"Should we throw him off the building?" Slade asked.

"He'll just climb back up." Robin chuckled.

"Hmm… huh? What'cha all talkin' bout?" Speedy slurred sleepily, having just woken up from a slumber in the shade.

"Red's right to exist." Slade let him know.

"Oh. Nothing new then. Let me know what you decide." Speedy yawned and turned over.

"I think Robin's right; it_ is_ the pool I love." Red muttered.

* * *

They were on the roof of Slade's and Robin's building, where the two had recently installed a big swimming-pool, complete with deckchairs and large potted plants, creating a little oasis. Winter had come to Echo city a few weeks earlier, but since the whole area was encased in glass, the cold couldn't touch them. In fact, the temperature was kept at a tropical level, and there were spotlights above them, mimicking sunlight.

"I love it now, but I wouldn't want to be in here in summer." Speedy told them, finally sitting up and stretching.

"We must remember that." Slade smirked.

"Roy, the glass-walls are retractable, so this really works as a year-around pool." Robin explained.

"You shouldn't have told him." Slade complained.

"Sorry. Just needed to brag." Robin grinned.

"I hate that we are renting." Red sighed. "Can't you buy our building for us?"

"I'd love to buy you a building, just not in this city." Slade said firmly.

"You don't love me!" the thief accused him.

"That's right." Slade nodded.

"Bastard." Red growled.

"Don't badmouth your father, dear." Robin snickered from the water.

"Come over here, _I_ love you." Speedy said and reached out for his boyfriend, who eagerly left his chair for the other redhead's.

As the couple cuddled, blissful silence settled around the pool, only disturbed by the soft splashes as Robin did laps. After a while the former hero grew bored, hoisted himself up of the water and went over to the spring board at the deep end of the pool. He didn't notice, or care, that three pairs of eyes were studying him appreciatively. Well. Two and a half pairs, really.

* * *

Red grinned at the image of the young water-god, clad in the pair of skimpy speedos Slade had got him for their honeymoon walked by.

"Damn, he's such a MILF." the thief sighed.

"Yeah, totally." Speedy agreed with a similar sigh.

"He's a what?" Slade, whose hearing was excellent, asked.

"Are you talking about me?" Robin called out from the spring board.

"The idiots called you something... like mulch…" Slade said, his hearing clearly not that excellent after all.

"Not mulch, _MILF_!" Red said. "We just think you're a MILF, Rob."

"Well, I guess I am. Perverts…" Robin grinned and jumped, performed an effortless somersault and barely made a splash as he entered the water.

"I'm thirsty." Slade suddenly said. "I'm going to go ask Sarah to make us some lemonade."

"Where's Slade?" Robin asked as he appeared above the surface.

"Said he was getting some lemonade…" Speedy chuckled.

"…but he's _really_…" Red continued, "gonna go check what MILF means..."

_The End_

* * *

A/N: well, the prompt was pretty obvious, right? Yeah, it was MILF. If you don't know what it means, check it out on Wikipedia… it's actually very fitting, as far as Red and Speedy are concerned… ;)


	14. 14 Amusement Park Amusements

Tuesday 14 December

Merry Christmas** Ace's-girl13**!

Freestanding universe

Genre: humor, crack-ish

Warning: OOC-ness (of course, I'm writing this, right?) and a horrible, horrible construction… no…_ two_ of them!

This story has a photo on DA which goes with it, but don't rush over there now, it's nothing smexy... if you think it is, you need help... ;)

**

* * *

**

Amusement Park Amusements

"This is an amazing initiative, Robin!" the gushing female reporter told the Titan's leader. "Creating a truce with the villains of Jump City, nothing like this has ever been done before."

"Well, Miss…" Robin peered and the press ID, "Sullivan, remember that it's only for twenty-four hours, and only here." The teen gestured to the surrounding amusement park. "We hope for good results, but as we have said, civilians are here at their own risk."

"That doesn't seem to bother people, this place is bustling!" the reporter said like it was a good thing that people were stupid. "What gave you the idea?"

"The Titans have been involved in a campaign against bullying during the last month, and we declare that you don't have to love everyone, but you need to show people some decency and respect, and, if you work on it, you might learn to get along. This is a test of sorts. As long as they don't commit any crimes in here, all the criminals wearing an ID, like I am," Robin showed off the name-tag on his tunic, "have been given complete amnesty. We, and Titans East, hope to spend time with them, get to know them, and maybe reach out to them in a new way."

"That's very honorable of you Robin. How do you think the criminals feel about the matter?"

"Seriously? Since the whole H.I.V.E-academy seems to be here, I think most of them came for the free food and rides." Robin said with a grin, making the woman's eyes glitter in the knowledge that this was _good_ television. "I'm joking, of course…" the teen continued. "Some of them might be as curious about what makes_ us_ tick as the other way around. It's not easy being type-cast or trying to get out of a role. We might be able to offer them some help if they so wish… mainly we are just here to have fun and to prove that we can all get along."

"Thank you Robin, we on channel six wishes you all the best!" the woman said, turned to the camera and rounded off the segment.

Robin nodded politely and walked back to his waiting team, now doubled by the presence of Titans East.

_You don't want this to go well__, Miss Sullivan; you want it to be a disaster… because that's the kind of news that sells… _Robin thought darkly to himself. He smiled at his friends, however.

"Well, team, this is it. Remember to keep in control, not just going in groups of heroes, spread out. Talk to them, make them relax."

"Yeah, how about helping _me _relax?" Speedy muttered, glancing at Cinderblock who lumbered by with a stick of pink cotton candy in his hand.

"I'm sure it will be fine." Robin mumbled, watching the same thing and wondering what the hell he had gotten them all into.

"Robin? May we take the wheel ride later?" Starfire asked sweetly.

"Yeah… I… sure!" Robin answered. "We can all go." he added uncomfortably. He knew Starfire meant for them to be alone, in a romantic way, but Robin had no such intentions… he just hadn't figured out a way to tell the girl yet. It wasn't her, really, it was him… well… it _was _her… Star lacked a certain something that Robin had recently found out he wanted in a partner: a cock.

"Come on, everyone, move out!" he urged them on with a smile.

* * *

Speedy gave him a little look of pity and patted his shoulder as he passed. The archer knew about his orientation, as did the rest of the Titans. The trouble was Starfire, since she _just couldn't take a hint_. He watched the team disappear among the crowds and made a mental note to tell the management not to let any more people in. He had considered closing the park to all but villains and heroes, but he had been afraid that that would make things tenser; the crowd mixed it up a little.

"Hi kid, wondering if you're tall enough for the rides?" a voice chuckled behind him.

Robin turned around to face Red X.

_Lovely. The one villain who __REALLY gets on my nerves is the first one I meet._

"Hi Red. What's with the half-mask?" he asked, having not seen the villain with his lower face bare before.

"Well, _some_ people just don't understand the need for poor thieves to actually _eat _when they design costumes." Red X grinned. "And I'm gonna get myself a candy apple or ten."

"I'd love to be your dentist." Robin snorted, reluctantly letting the costume-jibe go.

"Yeah, yeah, it's not _you_ I want in my mouth; I'm looking for the redhead." Red X said impatiently and stood on his tip toes to see over the crowd.

"Really?" Robin said, suddenly feeling happier. If someone could distract Starfire it would be great. "I think she went that way." he said and pointed.

"She? No, I meant the archer, not the alien. What are you, her pimp?" the thief grinned.

"No, I… Speedy? Really?" Robin stuttered.

"Yeah, he's hot. There, I think I see him… bye kid! Thanks for inviting some hot ass to this dump of a city!"

* * *

Robin was left behind, gaping for a moment before shrugging and moving on.

_Guess I have to pimp her out to someone else, then…_ he smirked to himself. _Where's a straight guy when I need one?_

* * *

Robin kept on high alert as he browsed the amusement park. It was a temporary one, set up on the outskirts of Jump, as the fair down by the docks had been too small, and a little bit too close to the city centre, to do this in. This was a vast area, crammed with rides, games and food-stalls, all of them free to the heroes and villains, if only for tonight. The park would be here for a couple of months, though, for all of Jump to enjoy.

He spoke, briefly or more in depth, with several people, both criminals and civilians, and noticed that most of the former where in uniform, although sometimes altered. He himself had left his cape at home; it was just a bit too dangerous to wear one on a ride. He saw a lot of familiar faces, though the one he _most_ wanted to see were not among them.

_He wouldn't show… this is too immature for him…_ Robin thought gloomily to himself.

* * *

He got Adonis to join him in the mirror-house and discovered that behind the dual personality of pompous ass and insecure skinny guy, he actually had a bit of self irony too. Robin felt a bit better after this, feeling that there might be hope for this one.

* * *

Self irony was something Gizmo didn't possess an _ounce _off, however, and he was a rather sore loser as well.

"No way, crud-face! The water pressure in my gun was shite! One more time, and we'll switch guns!" the little guy growled. Robin chuckled and agreed, beating him once more.

"No fair! It's rigged!" the H.I.V.E member complained. "Bet you don't dare to go on the Death-a-Nator!" he added and pointed to the large rollercoaster.

Robin was about to take him up on it, since he had wanted to try it from the start, when a complaining voice cut in.

"Robin! He's not being nice to me! Tell him to be nice!"

* * *

Speedy had happily watched Cyborg and Ding Dong Daddy going at it on the bumper car floor, trying to give each other neck injuries in a fun way.

"Hi there, babe. All alone?" a voice asked behind him and Speedy turned around, an eyebrow arched.

"Hi. You are?" he asked, not too rudely, but just enough to put this guy in his place. He could see by the nametag that this was a villain, but who? Speedy wasn't familiar with all of them in Jump, though he had heard stories. He squinted at the scrawled name. "Red X? You're the guy who stole Robin's suit?"

"That's me, babe, but stole? He practically _left it out_ for me in that safe." the guy smirked. He had a nice smile, Speedy had to admit. They were of the same height, although the thief had a somewhat more slender frame. The archer rather liked what he saw, but he wasn't one to be picked up _quite_ that easily… especially as _he_ was used to be the one doing the picking.

"Bet he did. Enjoying yourself?"

"I'm getting there." The smirk widened. "Listen, why don't you and I go and look for something fun to do, huh?"

"Hey, no offence, but-"

"Are you as bad at games as Robin says you are?" Red X cut him off.

"Hey, what? What did the little gel-addict say?" Speedy growled. "I'll beat your ass at anything!"

"Deal… We'll talk prizes later."

* * *

Robin turned around to see Red X tugging a fuming Speedy along behind him.

"What's going on?" he asked, before turning to Gizmo. "Sorry, we'll have to catch up later."

"You're so chicken!" the small guy crowed happily and was off to tell the world.

Robin sighed, but at least the little jerk was happy. He _had_ considered losing on purpose, but that just wasn't in him, and it would be even more insulting if Gizmo saw through it.

"I won a wager and Speedy is being unfair!" Red X complained to the boy wonder.

"Is it true? Did he win?" Robin asked Speedy who glared at the ground.

"Yeah."

"Well, then… pay up." Robin smirked.

"But-"

"Speedy. We are here to show everyone how act fairly, after all. If you enter a bet, you have to see it through." Robin said sternly, hoping the bet was something like going on one of the kiddie-rides.

"All right…" the archer said, pulled the thief into his arms and kissed him deeply.

Robin's jaw hit the gravel and he hadn't been able to pick it up before the kiss, at long last, ended.

"Damn, Robin…" Red X gasped. "You're the best pimp _ever_!"

"Yeah, thanks for making me play fair." Speedy grinned.

"Come on… let's go somewhere quiet and I might let you get to fifth base…" Red X half whispered to Speedy.

"There's only _four_ you know!" Robin pointed out at once.

"Yeah… that's what _virgins_ think…" Red chuckled and pulled a now much more willing, Speedy away.

* * *

Robin made a frustrated sound and set off again. His mood improved as he spotted the unlikely pair of Control Freak and Starfire. The two had apparently bonded over their love of junk food in strange combinations, and Robin ducked before he was seen and set off in another direction.

Beast Boy and Kitty was another strange pair, but, on the other hand, the blond always seemed to have a weak spot for animal-guys and Beast Boy simply liked blonds.

Jinx and Raven where on a spinning ride, Jinx screaming happily, her arms in the air, while Raven was holding on for dear life, paler than usual.

Robin smiled. It all seemed to be going quite well. He had a strange feeling of being watched, however, but, on the other hand, the whole crowd more or less did, so maybe that wasn't so odd.

* * *

Slade turned away as the young man glanced his way. He had hesitated about coming here today, the whole thing much too childish for him, but the temptation had been too much. He had decided to forgo his uniform all together, dressing in black jeans and a black tight t-shirt instead. He still had to wear the name-tag, but at least he didn't stand out too much… except the fact that he was a head taller than most of the people around him, of course.

Going without the mask was a gamble, but he _did_ have immunity here, and the government already had extensive files on him, even if Robin hadn't been able to find them yet.

The man frowned. He felt like a stalker, and even though he might have developed some stalker-ish tendencies when it came to his bird, this was much too pathetic. He snorted and turned around to look for a place to get something to drink. It was still early in the day, the sun was high in the sky and the gravel and trampled grass filled the air with dust. He took three steps and bumped right into the teen hero, who seemed to be busy dodging his alien team mate and some fat guy.

* * *

"Oh, sorry, I-" Robin looked up at the man he had almost knocked over. "Oh." he added, forgetting what he was about to say.

_Hubba-HUBBA… I mean… DAMN… and look at those ARMS… hold me, baby, I'm yours!_ Robin drooled.

"No harm done." the man answered in a deep vice which tickled Robin in all the right places. "Have a nice day."

The teen followed the man with his eyes until he turned a corner and then blinked. Who _was_ that? Hadn't he been wearing a tag? Robin was pretty sure, but had forgotten to actually read it. He really needed to check his IQ when he got back to the Tower.

Robin's brain, feeling insulted, decided to do some work. Tall guy, shoulders as wide as a barn, deep voice, one eye… well, it couldn't be Mad Mod now, could it?

"Slade…" Robin breathed. He didn't even think it through, but he never did when it came to this man, he just set out to catch up to him.

* * *

Slade had disappeared however, and after a while Robin had to stop to try to explain to Billy Numerous that it wasn't fair of him to take up a whole ride all by himself.

Gizmo had now found Mas y Menos, and the three of them seemed to have a great time on the rides, Robin noted. Bumble Bee walked by with Mammoth, apparently catching up on old memories from the H.I.V.E.

Raven had also moved on and was now talking to Mumbo Jumbo, perhaps about magic or maybe about the amount of pain he would be in if he ever turned her into a bunny again.

Robin turned a corner and stopped dead. It was the scariest, most horrendous ride he had ever seen, and he felt his skin turn clammy with cold sweat.

"Hi Robin, having fun?" Aqualad asked beside him. The Atlantean were in the company of a blushing Jinx and an out-of-place Chang.

"I… I have to go…" The black haired teen stammered and backed away.

"Don't wanna go on that ride with us?" Jinx asked, putting a hand on his arm.

Robin tore away almost violently.

"No! No, I… bye!"

The odd trio stared at the fleeing hero and then looked back at the ride.

"But… that's for children, right?" Aqualad asked.

"Yeah… I have no idea what got into him… Maybe he's just as chicken as Gizmo says…" Jinx shrugged. "I think those ducks look cute!"

"Maybe it's the idea of riding inside a waterfowl… no, I can't explain it…" Chang mumbled, confused. "I'm going to get some popcorn."

* * *

Slade had watched it all with curiosity as well. He had noticed Robin looking for him and decided to let himself be found when it all had happened. Luckily Robin was fleeing his way, and for the second time that day, bumped into him.

"Oh, sor- Slade?"

"Finally recognized me, did you?" the man smirked. "Tell me about the ducks." he then ordered. This was something about Robin he didn't know, and he loathed not to know every single detail about his little bird. Therefore, he would find out, whether Robin wanted him to or not.

"No." Robin said and tried to push past him. Slade sighed. Silly little hero. Robin should know that Slade always got his way, and be more than happy to make sure that was the case. The man, deciding that the quickest way to resolve the whole thing was by making Robin face it, picked the teen up and slung him over his shoulder.

* * *

Robin yelled out in indignation as he suddenly found himself being lifted by the villain. The resentment soon turned into terror, however, as he saw where the man was heading.

"Slade, let me down! Now! Don't you dare!" he growled, blushing as he heard laughter all around. The spectators obviously thought this was some kind of act, rehearsed for the occasion, and gathered around to watch.

"Well, tell me about the ducks then." Slade told him in a perfectly reasonable voice.

"No! Put me down you psycho bastard!" Robin yelled in a perfectly unreasonable one, getting more laughs and cheers from the audience.

Before he knew it, Robin found himself inside one of the horrid things, with Slade quickly climbing in beside him. Since it was a kiddie-ride, the man had to pull Robin up into his lap for them both to fit. Somehow the man managed to pull down the security handle over the both of them, and it clicked shut. Almost immediately the ride started, and the teen was sure that he was about to die.

He wasn't yelling any more, instead he had grown deathly white and quiet. He wasn't even aware of the fact that he was holding on to Slade so tightly that he left marks on the man's skin.

* * *

"Let me guess; bad bathroom experience?" Slade smirked, enjoying the hands-on attention.

"What made you think that?" Robin almost whimpered.

"Well, it could have been a bad_ bedroom_ experience, but that would make me worry." the man chuckled.

"Shut up. Hate you." Robin bit out.

"Did no one ever tell you to face your fears?"

"Yes. I told them to go fuck themselves." the teen hissed. "And I'll do it again, so don't even try!"

"But… ducks?" Slade really tried to understand.

"Not just ducks… yellow rubber ducks." Robin hissed.

"I see. Makes all the difference." Slade deadpanned.

"I hate you!"

"So you've already informed me, yes." the man sighed. "Well, tell me this, Robin; is this ride made of rubber or plastic?"

"No, of course not." Robin snorted.

"And are these ducks for bathing?"

"… no…" Robin mumbled and then frowned. "Hey, don't try to be logical with me, it's a phobia! It's not based on logic!"

"Don't blame me for trying to help." the man said. "You feel better now, though, don't you?"

"…"

"What was that?"

"…yes… bastard…" Robin muttered.

"Good. Control yourself, or all the villains out there will immediately buy rubber ducky t-shirts, and you are finished." the man said.

"And you won't?" Robin snorted, for the first time realizing how vulnerable he had made himself by revealing this silly fear.

"Yellow isn't my color." Slade smirked. "Besides, the next time I have you on my lap I would prefer it if you were happy about it… very, _very _happy."

"…!" Robin couldn't find an answer for that, although his face decided to at least try to continue communicating by color-code. It turned red.

The ride was over, there was a click from the steel security handle as it opened, and Robin pushed it up and escaped first of all.

"Robin-" Slade started, but the teen spun around to face him, snarling.

"Stay the hell away from me!" he hissed quietly enough so the people around wouldn't hear. Robin then turned again, only to be stopped by an unlikely source.

"Hey, Rob, don't be such a grump, we're to be polite, remember?" Speedy grinned. Robin glared at the archer, whose short hair looked rather tousled, and who had Red X very close next to him. So close, in fact, they might as well be wearing the same pants.

"This is not the same thing!" Robin snorted, tensing as he felt Slade's looming presence behind him.

"No-no-no, you were all on about reaching out to them… making them relax… love them…" the redhead argued.

"I said _nothing_ about love, and the rest of it got warped by your dirty mind!" Robin objected, his face using the signal bright pink to try to tell the world something.

"Yeah, yeah, I zoned out somewhere, but anyway, you can't walk away in a huff, that's the complete opposite of what we are here for… we are going to try to _get along_, right?" the archer grinned evilly.

Robin took a deep breath. He knew the redhead was trying to rile him up, but in essence, he was right. Annoyingly so.

"Very well. You owe me, though. A lot. I'm going to make you bring _that_-" Robin pointed at Red X, "back to Steel City."

"That would be a_ treat_ for him…" Red smirked, while Speedy swallowed nervously.

"Slade." Robin said, turning to the man. "As Speedy here pointed out, I handled things badly. I apologize. Your little… _joke_… really freaked me out."

"I got that impression, yes." Slade smirked without an ounce of apology in his voice.

"An 'I'm sorry' wouldn't hurt." the teen snorted and crossed his arms.

"Wouldn't like to risk it." Slade said innocently.

"Well, now when we are all friends, let's go on some rides together!" Red X, the delusional thief suggested. "Robin gets to choose first."

"All right. I just want to make very clear that no one is allowed to choose_ that_ one." Robin said, jerking his head towards the ducky horror. He then looked around. As a male, and a teen, surrounded by other male teens… and a man… it was of course socially unacceptable for him to choose something which was simply _fun_. No, he would _have_ to choose the _worst_ thing he could spot, without ducks, and so pointed to the rollercoaster.

"None of you are too scared of the Death-a-Nator, are you?" he smirked.

"Heard _you _were." Speedy smirked back. "I'm game."

"Me too." Red seemed excited.

"And you Slade?" Robin asked, hoping the man would back out.

"Horrible name." the man muttered. "But if you insist on childish rides…"

"Hey, big guy, you were sitting in a _duck_ a few minutes ago, your rep _needs_ this!" Red X insisted.

Robin chuckled and grinned at the delinquent.

"I think I'm warming up to you."

"Ohh… really… this might get interesting…" Red grinned hopefully.

"Not_ that_ interesting." Slade growled and put a hand on Robin's shoulder protectively.

"Robin! Oh, Robin I have searched long and broad for you!" a female voice called, and Starfire flew up to them. Robin found himself backing up somewhat to Slade.

"Hi, Star." the teen said, hearing Speedy snicker and whisper something to Red X.

"Greetings all! Robin, are you prepared for the ride of the giant wheel?"

"Sorry, I-"

"Robin's riding with me." Slade growled.

"Oh, but you do not understand, new large friend, the wheel is for boys and girls." Starfire tried to explain.

"Robin doesn't like to take rides with girls, he prefers men." Slade outed the teen without any hesitation.

Robin's face had some problems with finding a color appropriate for the moment and shifted between red and pale green.

"Men?" Starfire repeated, dumbstruck.

"Well…. _me_." the man nodded.

"But… why?" the alien asked. She didn't seem that distressed, more curious.

"Because girls have cooties." Slade said with a very straight face.

"That's right!" Speedy chipped in. "That's why I'm with Red here, see?" he said and kissed his new interest briefly.

"I do see." Starfire started, here green eyes wide. "But then why-"

"Star! Have you tried mustard-covered fudge?" someone, who turned out to be Control Freak, asked, coming up to them with two plates.

"No, I have not." Starfire cheered up and seemed to lose interest in the boy-issue. "May I please have the experience?"

The two disappeared discussing the odd flavors and Robin's panic slowly settled. He glanced up at the man behind him, by craning his neck backwards.

"I think I'm warming up to you too." he let the man know. "Only a little, however, and don't for a moment think that I agree with anything you said. I just didn't say anything to get Starfire off my back."

"Yeah, but how are you going to get _Slade _off it?" Speedy snickered.

* * *

After three scary and nauseating rides it was Red X's turn to choose. He had the most evil smirk on his face, making Robin nervous.

"Okay, guys… I have something for you that's reeeeeaaaaally scary." he said. "Follow me."

A little while later they stopped in front of the attraction.

"No way in hell." Robin said.

"Chicken?" the thief countered.

"Speedy, back me up?" Robin begged.

"I want to… I really, really want to…" the archer whined. "Babe, really? Please pick something else? Please?"

"Just say no! Are you so afraid of not getting laid?" Robin snorted.

"Hey, if you ain't been there and done that, you ain't got a vote." the archer smirked.

"Slade? You're my last hope?" Robin pleaded. "Just say no to this and… and I'll… get you a hotdog!"

"I bet _Slade_ likes to be the hotdog between _your_ buns…" Red X laughed.

"Or at least eat yours…" Speedy provided.

"Shut up! A slice of pizza then? Anything! Just tell him to forget it!"

"Anything?" Slade purred. "Such a generous offer… but I think I'd enjoy the ride more…"

"_What_?" Robin gasped, almost insulted.

"Red X is right, my reputation was shattered in the duck-ride. It can't possible get worse." Slade smirked.

"Yes it can!" Robin hissed. "Let's go on the ducks again instead? Please!"

"Come on, Robin. Time to man up." Speedy said sadly. "We have to do this or the dark side wins."

"Have we ever lost?" Red X asked nonplussed.

"Not that I'm aware of…" Slade shrugged.

"But it's a… It's a T… Tu…" Robin swallowed. "It's a _Tunnel of Love_! We can't go in there! And with_ these_ two?" he added and pointed rudely at their company.

"Well, it_ is _kinda like the ultimate evidence that this crazy little scheme of yours works…" Speedy sighed.

"They are not going to go in there to become better people; they are going in there to… to... make us _hold hands_ or something!" Robin hissed.

Red X glanced at Slade.

"I'm so glad that one's yours." he told the man smugly. "I already blew mine behind the fortuneteller's tent."

"How lovely… I wonder if she saw _that_ coming?" Slade snorted.

"_Him_ coming, you mean?" Red X snickered. "Well, if she didn't foresee it, she sure as hell _heard_ us… damn thin walls in tents."

Slade bit his tongue to stop himself from answering, since he had a feeling the conversation would become increasingly inane.

"_Hold hands_? Robin, were you raised in the fifties and then stumbled into a time machine?" Speedy groaned. "If Slade only holds your _hand_ in there, you better make a complaint to the management! Now come!"

"I like the sound of_ that_…" the thief smirked and sauntered after the archer.

Robin dragged his feet like he was going to his own execution, but eventually he got to the line, even if Slade had to prod him.

This ride also consisted of bird-shaped vehicles, this time boats which looked like swans. They all seated just two, of course, and the ride seemed slow, lasting quite some time, probably to make sure there were lots of opportunities for handholding, Robin suspected.

Red and Speedy jumped into the first boat and were kissing before it even disappeared into the dark opening. Robin hesitantly climbed into the next and was joined by Slade, who just happened to place his arm on the backrest behind the teen.

"I might have been born in the fifties," Robin said, "but not in the stone-age. I know that move, Slade. Don't try anything."

"Who? Me?" the man leered, and the boat sailed off.

* * *

It wasn't as bad as Robin had dreaded. It was worse.

"It's all pink and glittery and… what the hell is that music?" Robin moaned as mechanical doves and over-fed babies with wings swung from the ceiling on not-so-invisible strings and hearts seemed to do a little strange dance on the sides.

"Don't worry… I'll distract you." Slade purred, turned Robin's head and kissed him.

After the horror of the décor, Robin was almost grateful. He tried to keep his hands primly in his lap, but as Slade soon had him half lying down on the stuffed red fake leather seat, that became impossible. He heard a series on needy little moans and, shocked, discovered that they came from him. By then his arms were around the man's neck and his tongue in Slade's mouth.

Robin was a fighter and what he fought for now was to regain some common sense.

"No… don't…" he mumbled as Slade let him breathe.

"Don't stop?" the man purred, and then kissed the teen's neck instead, while his hands were way up under the tunic and shirt.

"Slade, I… I think this is a bit more than…. Mmm… than… 'getting along'…" Robin tried to reason while getting his nipples teased in the most delicious way.

"Well, in that case you get an A plus… I like the fact that you're an overachiever…" the man praised him.

"But... I'm… aaahh… I'm… I'm not _helping_ you!" Robin objected.

"Oh, trust me, Robin… you _are_… but if you_ really_ want to give me a hand…?" Slade said and grabbed one of Robin's, which was now flailing around uselessly anyway, trying to make some kind of point. The man placed the hand on a very strategically place on his body and held it there as Robin tried to pull it away.

"I'm supposed to make you a better _person_!" Robin hissed.

"Would you settle for just very happy?" the man smirked back and made the teen's hand move.

"No!"

"So you are going to let a dangerous criminal, who is now _very_ frustrated and annoyed, out in the park?" the man arched an eyebrow.

"Don't try to blackmail me!" the teen warned him. "I'm not falling for it!"

"Damn, I hoped you would. Well, you better take your hand off my cock, then." Slade sighed.

Robin looked down. The man wasn't holding his hand in place any longer. He blushed and quickly pulled it back.

"You are horrible!"

"And you are amazingly sexy." Slade smirked. "The way your cheeks are flushed, the redness of your lips after the kisses… you are killing me here."

"I'm not- I… really?" Robin blinked. "No! I'm not falling for that either!" he decided.

"Don't worry. I have more." Slade assured him, just as the ride ended.

* * *

Sunlight had barely touched the swan's beak before Robin flew apart from Slade and sat so far to one side, hands firmly in his lap again, that it looked like there was room for one more in the boat.

"Did you boys have fun?" Speedy grinned as he stood waiting by the little dock where the swans stopped.

"Of course." Slade said, helping a blushing Robin off the ride, much against the teen's will, as he really didn't need any assistance.

"Nice hickey, Robin." Red smirked.

Robin paled and clutched his neck.

"It's a mosquito-bite!" he told them.

"More like love bite, but whatever… big ass bugs in there… and lucky too…" Speedy grinned. "Well, who's for ice-cream?"

* * *

"Come on, Rob… why so blue?" Speedy asked his friend and almost-brother. They had a moment by themselves, since they managed to get their temporary partners to fetch the ice cream for them. "He didn't do anything bad, did he? You can arrest him if he did…"

"No… he didn't…" Robin mumbled and got a bit pink around the ears again.

"Oh, so _that's_ what's bumming you out?" the other smirked.

"No! I… I don't want him to… do anything." Robin said, not even sounding convincing in his own ears.

"Why? He's hot isn't he? I'm not into that type, really, but you seem to be drooling pretty freely."

"Am not." Robin sulked. "What, it's _that _obvious?"

"Pretty much, yeah. So why not go for it?"

"In an amusement-park? With what, twenty hours to go? Not that I've planned to stay that long… Then what? Not much of a future there, is there?"

"Damn, for being that smart you are so incredibly stupid…" Speedy sighed. "That's the whole _point_! There's a _time-limit_! You can do_ anything_, and then everything goes back to normal like it's never happened!"

"It will?" Robin blinked.

"Yeah, well, either it will, or Slade is gonna turn a new leaf… both good things, right? It's not like _you_ are going to join _him_… you are too much of a goody two-shoes to do_ that_, no matter_ how_ horny you are!"

"Don't be so crude!" Robin snorted.

"But _you_ should be!" Speedy insisted. "Act like a crude, horny, senseless idiotic teenager, with no thoughts of the future what so ever, for _once in your life_!" Speedy urged him. "There's no one here to frown or correct your posture, you know, so just go for it!"

"Really?" Robin asked, staring at his friend.

"Yeah… show people you're human, you might enjoy it." the redhead smirked, taking the edge of his words.

* * *

"I hope you are talking about me…" Slade said, handing Robin a chocolate and vanilla ice-cream cone.

"Of course we were." Speedy grinned. "Well, Robin… are you gonna take that ride?"

"Yeah…" A grin suddenly appeared on the hero's face. "I think I will."

"What ride?" Slade asked.

"I'll show you…." Robin chuckled and grabbed the man's hand.

"It's behind the fortuneteller's tent." Speedy let them know.

Robin suddenly stopped, and both Speedy and Slade feared that he had changed his mind. The raven-haired youth went back to the archer and, obviously a litter embarrassed, leaned in so he could whisper in his ear.

"Errr… Speedy… there's… there's really no such thing as a fifth base, is there?"

"Bro…" Speedy chuckled, "just you go and worry about the first three…"

_The End_

* * *

A/N: I could seriously continue this forever, but I had to stop somewhere or the rest of the X-mas drabbles wouldn't get written… The prompt word/sentence was 'the Teen Titans and villains go to a theme park'. Did I grin widely when I read that prompt? Yes I did. There was more instructions too; 'Robin decides he's gay but Starfire doesn't know yet, Red X is trying to get poor Speedy, and someone -SLADE- is stalking Robin throughout the park'.

I admit that Red X didn't have to try TOO hard, and there's only a scene of Slade's stalking, but at least it hints at the fact that he has been at it for a while.. ;)

If you want to see the duck-ride, there will be a PHOTO of it on my Deviant Art account (go to my bio and click 'homepage') which I took this summer.

I hinted at it in this story, though I don't think I went completely overboard with it, but I think it would be fun to try to write Robin as really BEING prim and proper and painfully innocent… yeah, I've toyed with it in a few stories, I know (like the Peace Contract, where, to begin with, Robin was as bad as getting hints as Starfire in this story) but I mean in a CRACK over-the-top way… well... we'll see… The thing that's holding me back is the fact that I will have to deal with a very frustrated Slade… and that's dangerous… ;)


	15. 15 Dream a Little Dream of Me

Wednesday 15 December

Merry Christmas **fluffy09**!

A/N: Of all the stupid prompts… ;) Oh, come _on_ Fluffy! You wrote this prompt because you are pure evil! I'm not fooled by your pen-name! Not after this…

Free-standing story

Warnings: Crack and craziness, and a bit of dirty talk…

If you can't figure it out, you'll find out the prompt in the bottom A/N as usual…

**

* * *

**

Dream a Little Dream of Me

Robin woke up, feeling dizzy, and knew instantly that something was wrong. He sat up, and immediately spotted a big source of general wrongness in his world; Slade. It seemed, however, that the man too was just sitting up and looking around in a similar fashion.

"What the hell…?" the man growled, sounding unusually out of sorts. Robin couldn't stop staring at him, however, and that was not surprising, considering that the guy was wearing, apart from his mask, an old fashioned male bathing suit; the kind which looked like a woman's one-piece, except it had short sleeves and legs which almost reached the knees. This one was in an American flag pattern.

"Nice getup." Robin smirked, not caring that it might be dangerous to tease the man.

"Likewise." the man replied, making Robin look down.

"Slade, why am I in a pink tutu?" he asked, closing his legs tightly.

"Because a purple one would look silly?" the man suggested.

"Ah." Robin said, and noticed the pink bodice which went with his outfit. It had short frills around the very low neckline and arms. "This has to be a dream, right?" he asked.

"Whatever gave you that idea?" Slade snorted.

"Well… the outfits, the very pretty meadow we are sitting on, and the checkered giraffes which just flew by." Robin rattled off.

"Impossible, I don't dream dreams like this." the man growled.

"Me neither! If I ever dream of you, you are usually on top of me by now." Robin tried to explain. "And I'm almost never in a dress."

"Well, _those_ kinds of dream I recognize… with you under me of course." Slade nodded.

"Soo… maybe this is the beginning to a very weird one, then?" Robin suggested hopefully. "What the hell did I have to eat last night?"

"Pepperoni pizza." Slade told him.

"How did you know that? Right… it's my dream…" Robin realized.

"No, I watched you fetch it. Why you didn't send one of your flying friends I have no idea."

"Well, then I wouldn't get a chance to catch a glimpse of you, now, would I?" Robin smirked.

"I'm flattered." the man purred.

"Be that." Robin chuckled and then frowned. "So, wait… Is this my dream or yours?"

"Like I said, it can't possibly be mine, because I would never, ever think up blue bunnies." the man said and pointed.

"Awww… how cute!" Robin grinned, watching the little cottontails frolicking around.

"_Your_ dream then." Slade muttered.

"I don't dream about this stuff either!" Robin objected. "Come on, what am I? A deranged ten year old girl?"

"Obviously." the man smirked, indicating the ballerina outfit.

"Oh, fuck off." said the foul-mouthed little girl. "Something is wrong here. Drugs?"

"You're using?" the man asked sharply.

"No! You?"

"Of course not."

"Well, then… we could have _been _drugged… or poisoned…" Robin's brow furrowed. And then his eyes widened. "You... you don't think that… that we're _dead_ do you?"

"Possibly. This looks like hell to me." Slade shrugged.

"But what about me? I don't deserve to go to hell!" Robin objected.

"Take that up with the Christian fundamentalists, and don't forget to mention those dreams of me when you do." Slade snorted. "By the way, this might very well be heaven for you."

"And why's that?" Robin scoffed. "The bunnies?"

"I was thinking more along the line that _I'm_ here…" Slade told him smugly.

"All right. So if this is heaven, or my dream, take off your mask." Robin ordered.

"No."

"Then how are we supposed to kiss?" the teen asked innocently. "You always take off your mask in my dreams."

"Well, that just means that in your dreams, I'm stupid." Slade muttered.

"Oh, don't put yourself down." Robin leered.

"This can't be your dream, then." the man decided.

"And I don't think we're dead." Robin mumbled and then jumped. "OW! You pinched me!"

"Just testing a theory." Slade shrugged, wincing as Robin's fist crashed into his shoulder.

"Just testing one of my own." Robin snarled back. "Wait… I remember something… I woke up from an alarm this morning… I know I did… and then what…?"

"I seem to remember something about a theater…" Slade said uncertainly.

"Yeah… I…" Robin went quiet and then his eyes widened behind his mask. "Oh, Slade, hold me, I'm so scared!" he suddenly cried out and flew into the man's lap, sobbing and shaking.

"What the…?" Slade huffed, as he found himself pushed back onto the unnaturally soft grass. "Have you gone mad?"

"Shh… I have an idea!" Robin hissed. "We're being watched, though, so just play along, okay?"

"There, there…" Slade said, patting Robin's back. "It will all be alright." The pain in the man's voice from having to do something like this was obvious.

"I'm… I'm so glad that you-you're he-here t-to pro-protect me!" Robin gushed.

"You don't think you are overdoing it?" Slade whispered in Robin's ear.

"That's the point!" Robin hissed back.

"Very well…" Slade mumbled and drew a deep breath. "Of course I'm here, my beloved. I always will be. You will never need to fear anything again."

"You're my knight!" Robin exclaimed and embraced Slade harder. "Shit, it's not working… we have to kick it up a notch." he whispered.

"How much?" Slade asked quietly.

"Have no idea… just follow my lead." Robin answered and then continued much louder. "My dreams are coming true… I'm finally in your arms! Mmmm…. I love rubbing up against your big, hard cock!"

"I'm not even half hard…" Slade snorted quietly, but his hands went to Robin's ass, squeezing the cheeks under the tutu. "You are such a hot little slut-boy… I always knew you wanted me to fuck you…" he said for their assumed audience's benefit.

"That's you _soft_? Damn… well, if you have any problems down there you better act like you don't…" Robin told the man, while kissing his neck, just below the mask. "This would be so much easier if you took your mask off."

"I will if you do." the man offered.

"No deal." Robin decided. "Uuuh!" threw his head back and started rocking on Slade's lap. "Yeah… you like my ass, don't you? You want to sink into it, all hot and tight and just for you?"

"You bet I do… and I want to play with these hard little nipples until you soak that pretty little leotard of yours…" Slade purred, a hand now pulling down the on the low neckline, exposing Robin's pink, hard buds. "How far are we taking this?" Slade asked quietly.

"Not… much… further…" Robin gasped as the man's fingers closed around a nipple and teased it mercilessly.

"Too, bad, because you know what I just noticed?" the man asked.

"No, wha- Ah!" Robin clutched the man's upper arms and gasped as Slade's other hand landed on top of his bulge and pushed between his thighs.

"That this bodice buttons at the groin…" the man purred.

"Don't you dare…" Robin gasped. "But pretend that you are!" he added quickly before moaning again and adding, louder. "Yes… yes, I want it! I want your fingers in my ass- Aaah!" he gasped as Slade's hand did an upwards push. It was all fake, but if the fabric hadn't been there… "Oh! Yes! Yes… damn... I…"

"That's right, ride my fingers my little bird… I'll give you something much bigger soon enough…" the man told him, obviously loving this. Robin clearly felt that Slade actually didn't have any downstairs problems.

"Stop! Stop it, you horrible people!" a screeching voice interrupted them.

"Bingo…" Robin grinned quietly.

"I would have preferred a few more minutes." Slade said glumly.

* * *

Suddenly the world seemed to twist around them, and then they found themselves sprawled on a dirty floor, littered with candy wrappers and the occasional popcorn.

_Who the hell eats popcorn at a play?_ Robin thought with a snort, before looking up at the scene in front of him.

"You were supposed to destroy each other, not doing dirty things inside my hat!" Mumbo Jumbo yelled.

"You! I knew it!" Robin growled and got to his feet. "And why the hell am I still wearing the tutu?"

"I have no idea, the magic has a mind of its own sometimes." the magician shrugged.

Slade, of course back in full uniform, because the magic didn't dare mess with _him_, took a step forwards.

Mumbo, sensing the danger, threw a couple of smoke-pellets on the floor and disappeared.

"Go that way, I'll go this!" Robin ordered the mercenary and hurried towards the back door.

* * *

Slade, unnoticed to the teen, calmly stood still, however.

"You can come out now." he said, and the green-skinned man appeared from behind a drape. Slade withdrew a bunch of bills, and handed them over. "Good job. Was the bathing suit really necessary, though? And the memory loss?"

"I told you there would be some confusion, and I didn't decide your outfits, your subconscious self did."

"Are you saying Robin actually _wanted _to wear the tutu?" Slade chuckled.

"Well… in fact you picked each other's outfits so… the tutu… was all you." The man grinned nervously.

"Tella single soul and you're dead." Slade growled.

"Fair enough, gotta go!" Mumbo bleated and ran away.

Slade was left alone, contemplating his own sanity, but at least he had gotten some playtime with his little bird, and he was sure he could convince Robin to have some more now.

* * *

Mumbo Jumbo had escaped to the back alley, but didn't get far before a masked hero, back in uniform, dropped down in front of him.

"Mumbo…" Robin smirked. "Good job." he handed the man a roll of bills from his belt. "Did you tell him the tutu was his idea?"

"Sure did!"

"Good. I'll make that parking ticket of yours go away then." Robin grinned. "Consider it a bonus. Now, don't cause any trouble for a while… I need some time with my _favorite _criminal."

"No problem." the magician promised and ran off again. It had been a very crazy deal, but the money was good and he was happy to have come out of it alive. Now, however, he would taka a vacation far away from here, because Slade and Robin together? He didn't want to be here when_ that_ blew up.

_The End._

* * *

A/N: Yes, the prompt of course was "Slade, why am I in a pink Tutu?". Isn't that evil? **I now officially challenge ALL of you to write a sladin drabble with this prompt! **It doesn't have to be slash or graphic or even funny, maybe you can do something really dark… but _how _I have no idea… short or long, size doesn't matter… come on, chickens… I DARE YOU. Just PM me if you do it, because I need to read it… ;)

Tomorrow's story is longer, around 19 pages, and I must say it's one of my favorites it that genre… so see you tomorrow!


	16. 16 Cop Killer

**Thursday 16 December**

Merry Christmas** applepie2334!**

A/N: this is both canon and not, as I am getting some inspiration both from the "Teen Titans" universe as well as the Deathstroke-comics universe… I have, as I have whined about before, not read Nightwing, though, so I'm mainly winging it… get it? Winging i- oh. I know. Sorry.

I'm doing POV's switching. I hope I'm good enough to get away with it, is up to you… if you are confused for more than a second, I'm not. Then tell me. ;)

Pairing? Well, that should be obvious…

Genre: some danger, some adventure… and some smex.

Universe: freestanding

**

* * *

**

Cop Killer

"Thank you for coming, Deathstroke." the spokesman for the group said.

Slade only inclined his head slightly in acknowledgement. He knew, as well as the scum in front of him did, that he was honoring them with his presence.

He studied them warily. They were a Circle; a group of small Mob-bosses working together to gain strength. Not the most trust-worthy lot. These arrangements always ended with one of them attempting to slaughter the others. The funny thing was that they all _knew_ this, they just all hoped to be the one holding the machine-gun.

The group was standing on top of a building in Las Vegas of all places; the city had apparently been picked as a neutral area… a neutral area jammed packed with exotic dancers.

Another of the men, as they were all men, spoke up. Slade didn't know if women were simply too clever to even try this kind of arrangement… or maybe they just didn't play well in groups.

"We called you here- I mean, we _asked_ you to come, because we have a job for y- that we were hoping you would accept."

Slade sighed. As he had suspected, the intelligence quota here probably matched that of a mite. A mite who was only allowed the dull kind of scissors. Of _course_ they had a job for him, why else was he here? Bridge?

"And this …_ job_… is?" he asked.

"We're having problems. In Blüdhaven."

"Blüdhaven was_ built_ on problems." Slade shrugged. "What can possibly stand out?"

"A cop." The answer was spat out from the spokesman.

"I thought you _owned_ the cops." Slade couldn't help but tease the group.

"We used to. This one, though... can't be bought. And the whole attitude is starting to change. We want to send a message. We want him gone."

"You want me to kill a cop." Slade summed things up. He was a mercenary, he could take on any job he choose, but killing a cop would mean trouble, maybe more than he needed after just returning to the country.

He had been working in Europe for the last couple of years, needing a bit of a break after helping the Titans defeat Trigon. He was almost ashamed to admit it, but the first thing he had done after returning to the US was to pop over to Jump to check on the teens. That had proved quite a shock. Robin wasn't there. Oh, there was _a_ Robin, dressed similarly, but it wasn't _the_ Robin. The boy had been good, obviously trained by the same mentor, but _his _Robin had been brilliant. Slade had stayed in the shadows, watching, listening to the gossip of the underground, trying to learn what had happened. He didn't think the young man was dead; news like that would most likely have reached him, even across the Atlantic, but where was he? Slade hadn't picked up on anything more than the original Robin leaving, and the new, younger model, showing up. The mercenary was pretty sure the teen had returned to Gotham, and with Blüdhaven close by, this might be an opportunity to see if he was right. He was still wary about killing a cop, however, especially a good cop. His morals, when he chose to listen to them, didn't like it at all.

"Yeah, nothing fancy, just shoot him in the back or something." A new man spoke up carelessly.

Slade made a face under his mask. He never shot people in the back. His killings were face to face or not at all.

"You have a name?" he said dryly.

"'Course... 'course…" the leader said. "Richard Grayson. Called 'Dick' by his friends… so I'll guess you'll call him Richard." The man actually laughed at his own poor attempt at a joke, and got a few snickers from the dafter of his fellow Circle-members.

"Where have I heard that name?" Slade asked.

"He's the ward of Bruce Wayne, the millionaire playboy." someone supplied.

"Yeah, a little rich kid playing sheriff…" another growled in distaste.

"And he's a poof too, I've heard. Two good deeds in one, huh?" a third half giggled.

Slade arched an eyebrow. He wondered what these men would say if he told them that he wasn't that picky about genders himself. Men or women didn't matter to him, but, to be honest, women tended to be clingy. If he just wanted sex, he'd choose a man.

It might have been curiosity, the proximity to Gotham or just boredom, but Slade nodded.

"I accept. I'll be in touch."

"G-great! We've been putting together information, everything you need to know. Address, everything!" a Circle-member said, offering the mercenary a folder.

"Keep it." Slade said, walking over to the edge of the roof, the colors of the lively city washing over him.

"But… but how will you find him?" the man asked.

"You gave me his name." Slade answered and disappeared into the night, frowning. He didn't want his prey served up on a platter. He was _hunter,_ not a call-and-deliver service. He hoped the men learned that one day. Preferably by personal experience.

* * *

Something made the hairs on Dick's neck stand up, and not at all in a good way. He had felt watched half the day, and was on edge. The moment something huge, blue, black and orange dropped down in front of him he almost felt relived. Until he saw who it was and what was aimed at him.

He deserved it, really. He had left his colleagues, who were gathered in front of a dough-nut-place, busy being police-caricatures, and went into an alley, because he had thought he'd heard a cry coming from in there. It had turned out to be a cat-fight, involving real cats, so he didn't have any jurisdiction. He had been about to turn around, and bang! Well. It would be 'bang' in a second, judging by the no-nonsense gun pointed at him. By Slade of all people. Dick knew the man didn't recognize him, and that was a good thing. Normally. Not right now.

The former Titan kicked out, a bit clumsily due to the confined space, forcing the mercenary's arm to the side, but, even with a kick to his wrist, Slade didn't drop the weapon. At that moment-

* * *

Slade had spent half a day locating Richard Grayson, and a few more following him around. Killing a man in his bed was not Slade's style, and he wanted the kill to look like a random shooting, preferably without being spotted. He had barely believed his luck when the cop had actually walked straight into a dark alley, and into his path as well. From the moment he dropped down in front of the young man, though, things got… strange.

Firstly, the younger man had blinked, almost in recognition, and the next second pain exploded in Slade's wrist from a hard kick.

Policemen never _kicked_. They weren't _supposed_ to. They were supposed to draw their weapons, something the man in front of him would never have had the time to do, and then shout-

"Police! Freeze!"

Yes, something like that.

* * *

Dick glanced behind him, as his colleagues rounded the corner. Backup was a good thing once in a while. He wondered why Batman never could accept that. When his eyes snapped back, however, Slade was gone.

"Dick, who the hell was that?" his partner asked.

"Who knows… another madman in pajamas…?" Richard shrugged. A madman he would soon have a very serious talk with.

* * *

Slade was actually slightly relived as he took off. He hadn't been paid to kill a whole _group _of cops, and certainly didn't want _that_ on his record. Hopefully young Grayson wouldn't understand that he was a specific target, and it had been too dark for the others to make out much. He could still hope that no one would be able to identify him. It helped that he had spent some years abroad, and rarely had any business in this city before that. He would have to check the media. If someone knew he was here, and worse, on this particular mission, things would heat up quickly, and he would have to be quick. Quick usually meant messy, something else Slade rather would avoid.

He decided to bide his time. Sooner or later that amazingly blue-eyed cop would try to interfere in another cat-fight. He could wait.

* * *

Richard got a ride home with a college that night, and almost as soon as he set foot inside his apartment, he changed into his uniform. Knowing Slade would almost certainly have his place under supervision, he didn't use his normal way out, but instead took advantage of the attic-space, which was joined up with the next building. He traveled in a large circle before approaching his place again, from the opposite direction. It took him mere moments to spot the shadow which didn't belong.

He landed, close to the man but not too close.

"Hello Slade. Long time no see."

Robin knew he had surprised Slade by the way his power-staff extended and lit up as the mercenary turned around. Dick's mind made a little forbidden detour as it stumbled over the words regarding 'extending power-staffs' but quickly got back in line again.

"How do yo- _Robin_?"

* * *

Slade had not expected someone to drop down from thin air behind him, and especially not the Titan who had been on his mind a lot lately.

A new surprise came when the other reached out, shaking his hand.

"It's good to see you again." the hero said. "It's been a while. I know Beast Boy did, but I haven't seen you since we fought Trigon."

"Good to see you too. Saw your replacement the other day… he has some things to learn."

"He will." the teen, no, Slade realized, _man_, in front of him nodded.

"You've grown up." Slade commented, studying the hero. The wide shoulders, the longish jet-black hair, the slim body… Yes, his little bird had_ certainly_ grown up, and done a very good job of it too.

"It happens." the other shrugged. "I don't know if I should be flattered or insulted that you recognized me so quickly."

"If you hadn't said my name, I might not have." Slade chuckled. "Hmm… staying below your radar seems to make you friendly as well… I might disappear for a few more years now."

It was the young man's turn to chuckle.

"You helped saved the planet, Slade. I figured I owed you."

"And the part where I helped to almost _destroy _it in the first place?" the man said dryly.

"Raven told me of her father's little game… your life for your help. Besides, I don't think you planned on being Trigon's lap-dog for _eternity_… in fact, I think things worked out _exactly_ as you wanted them to." the hero smirked.

"Perhaps." Slade gave a small nod.

"Besides. I've read up on you. Your files can fill a library."

"It's not all true." Slade shrugged.

"Pity, I was going to say that I was impressed." A cheeky grin lit up the dark.

"Well, it's _mostly_ true." Slade admitted, grinning back, although his mask hid it.

"Thought so. It told me you choose your battles…and _normally _well." the young man sounded like he wanted to make a point. "I also quite liked the beard."

Slade shrugged as he was told so bluntly that the former Titan knew what he looked like. The fact that he didn't know the same thing about the hero was slightly annoying, however.

"So… new outfit, Robin? Black and blue. It suits you."

"You too. It's lucky you have some orange in there, or it might look like we were on the same team."

"Lovely thought. I finally get you to wear my colors." Slade smirked delightfully.

"_My_ colors, Slade, _you_ are the one impersonating…" Robin grinned. "But I do like you new outfit… too much metal in your last one."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but this is actually my _old_ one… with a few tweaks." Slade told him. He had got rid of the boots and the orange pants. Everything was now blue and black, except for his cloth-mask, of course, which was still black and orange. He didn't want to mess with his signature. It was a simple hood now, however, not tied at his neck.

"I never thought you would change your mask." the younger man admitted. "Or the rest either, by the way."

"Well, once you spend a few weeks wearing it as a burnt corpse, held together by magic, your old uniform loses some of its charm." Slade shrugged. He would never admit it, but donning his other mask after Trigon was defeated was difficult. He could still feel his cheeks sizzling against the burning metal, and after a short time he went back to his old one. Even the mere memory of the intense pain of being burned alive in the lava while his body was trying to heal him, dragging the pain out, was enough to make the decision easy.

* * *

Dick looked up at Slade, though he didn't have to crane his head quite as far back anymore. There was something in the man's voice which sounded almost… human. Something he wanted to explore more. They were on more equal ground now, and he had to admit he was enjoying that.

"I think I understand. Anyway, it's Nightwing now, not Robin."

"New name, new uniform, new city. You really _did_ grow up." Slade nodded.

"I needed to fly solo for a while. No pun intended." Dick shrugged.

"I understand. Trust me." Slade chuckled.

"I thought you would. You always claimed that we were alike." Robin smirked. "Anyway, it's been nice seeing you. Now get out of my city."  
Slade chuckled again, but causally moved into a more defensive position.

"Not even going to offer me a tour?"

"I might… but I hear you were causing trouble for a police-officer today."

* * *

Slade blinked. The boy, well he still _was_ one, compared to himself, came up with surprise after surprise.

"May I ask how you know that?"

"Let's just say he's a friend." Nightwing answered. "The description of your mask told me the rest."

"A close friend? Lover?" Slade asked, trying to keep his voice dispassionate, but something about that grated on his nerves.

"Close friend yes, Lover… not so much…" the hero's smirk was somewhat naughty, and Slade had a feeling there was an inside joke here he just didn't get. "But I taught him a few things."

"Fighting too?" the mercenary asked, and as Nightwing nodded, Slade felt that that strange kick was explained.

"I want you to leave him alone. As a personal favor." the young man's voice was all business and very determined.

"I've been hired to take him down." Slade told him straight out. Nightwing would already know that, after all. Slade didn't pick on people for the fun of it.

* * *

It was Richard's turn to blink. Slade was certainly not secretive, that's for sure.

"I might ask you who ordered it, but you wouldn't tell me, and I already have my suspicions… a certain geometrical form is involved I bet."

Slade's short chuckle all but confirmed this.

"So?" Dick said, feeling curious. "What was the price?"

Slade mentioned a number and Dick snorted.

"I'm insulted on his behalf. That will be ten times as high in a year or so."

"Well, we'll never know." the mercenary said.

"Cancel it."

"I gave my word."

"Too bad. I didn't want to kick your ass on our reunion and everything." Dick shrugged and withdrew his bo-staff. At that moment a cry for help echoed from the next block over, and the hero immediately took off running. His life was safe as long as he was in costume anyway. "We'll finish this discussion later!" he called over his shoulder.

"Need help?" Slade surprisingly offered.

Dick paused as he fired his grapple hook, and eyed the man.

"I don't need a cop-killer. For anything."

* * *

Slade watched he hero go with mixed feelings of pride and annoyance. Of all the cops in this city, he had to get a contract on Robin's, no, _Nightwing's_, buddy? Granted, the young man wouldn't like it no matter _what_ cop it was, but for once Slade really _did_ want to drop the contract.

The pride was from just watching the way his bird had matured, and he really wouldn't mind fighting next to him again. It wouldn't be impossible, he figured, he had worked with vigilantes before, but if he put Grayson six feet under, his relationship with Nightwing would quickly turn just as cold.

He briefly wondered why the boy had trusted him not to just attack the cop's apartment, but shrugged it off. Either he was coming back, or believed enough in the mercenary's morals. Slade snorted to himself. Robin or Nightwing, he was still a bit too idealistic, it seemed. He looked around. Well. This city would take care of that soon enough. It was almost regrettable.

He decided to call it a night. His target was probably snuggled up safely under his blankets by now, anyway… and even though he was bound by his word, it didn't mean he had to rush, did it?

* * *

Dick had to admit that he was worried. He knew Slade wouldn't let his prey go, and it wasn't like he could just_ stop _being Dick Grayson. He had a job, responsibilities… it was just the matter of having a very skilled assassin on his tail that was giving him a bit of a headache. If worst came to worst, he could always tell Slade who he was… that meant, of course, that the man would find out about Batman's identity, but maybe he could make him promise to keep the secret. If Slade was as honor-bound as he seemed, he might just do that. The problem was that if he _was_ that honor-bound, Richard's real identity might not matter.

He took on an extra shift of desk-duty that night, filing and writing reports until after midnight. When he was done he made a phone call, changed, and snuck out the back, dressed as Nightwing. It was safe for a couple of reasons. Firstly he suspected Slade had watched him for a while, so the man knew that additional desk-duty wasn't that unusual. Dick enjoyed it. It reminded him of his Titan days and helped him clear his mind. As a rookie he was expected to do some extra, boring, work as well, to prove himself. Secondly, he always left by the side-door, something the suspected Slade knew as well, and, not surprising, that was the side Dick found him on a few moments later.

"Discussion-time?" the man asked, turning towards him with his staff drawn, the moment Nightwing's feet hit the roof. He wouldn't be able to surprise Slade twice.

"Yes, but literally." Dick said, not drawing his own weapon. "I'm only here to talk."

The man in front of him seemed to hesitate, and, Richard realized, he might still have the ability to surprise after all.

* * *

Slade stood down, if only slightly. He knew the young man would not attack him after the offering of a temporary truce, but he also had the famous Robin temperament to deal with, and wondered if it had gotten better or worse, now when it had grown into the Nightwing temperament.

"Talk then. Your friend is late anyway."

"Oh, he likes to work. He's a good man, Slade. Or he tries to be anyway."

"Yes. My condolences." the man nodded. He wouldn't budge because of a little speech.

"I understand that you made a deal with these scum and that you intend to keep it." the young man looked very serious and sincere. Slade smirked secretly behind his mask. He loved the way his bird could play devil's advocate, but he also knew that the argument for the other side, somehow, would lead to an advantage for the hero's.

"Good." the man muttered. "Are you going to get out of the way too? Maybe even call him up and ask him to meet you in an abandoned building down by the docks?"

"You'd love that, wouldn't you?" Nightwing smirked coldly. "No, Slade, I won't. I'd like to change my personal favor, however… from not killing him, to postponing it a few days."

"I knew it; he owes you money." Slade chuckled.

The other man chuckled as well.

"Something like that. Could you hold off the hunt until Friday?"

"Three days? My employers might get impatient." Slade objected. It really wasn't that long, and he didn't mind it, but, of course, he didn't want to be a push-over.

"Your employers," he was told, "are all in Vegas, losing their money and gaining a rather complete set of STD's. They won't mind."

Slade chuckled, knowing it to be true from first-hand observation.

"Well… Three nights in a strange city… any idea how I could spend that time?" he purred. He liked his bird's self assurance, but it wouldn't hurt to rattle it a little by turning up the suggestiveness.

"Of course." said bird grinned. "You'll spend it with me."

* * *

Richard grinned openly as he, once again, surprised the man. Not that there was any shocked gasp or anything as trivial as that, but the man's stillness told him as much.

"Very well." Slade told him, after a moment. "You have a deal. Shall we go?"

"I have a few things to deal with tonight. I'll see you here tomorrow night, same time. How's that?"

"No deal. If I'm not spending the time with you, I'll spend it hunting Mr. Grayson." Slade warned him.

Richard only smirked, however.

"Well, then, he's free game tonight. Good luck. He just left the building… and I don't think he's heading home."

Slade spun around to see a taxi pulling out of the curb in front of the side exit. The man set off across the rooftops, following it, while Dick continued smirking. He had called that cab before he left, and hoped that, after the driver realized that he had been stood up, he would take another drive quickly. Hopefully in Gotham. He chuckled at the image of the Slade following the cab half the night, but knew that he would see through the little bluff soon enough… no matter, the fact that he had fallen for it was all that mattered. And now… he had some work to do.

Two hours later Nightwing gave the fifth person of the night a light heart-attack by landing in front of him.

"Hello, Rat… No, no, don't bother putting that TV down… I'm going to let you have it… if you do me a little personal favor… sound good?"

* * *

Slade smirked as he knocked out the last person of the group with a neat roundhouse kick. 'Spending the night' with Nightwing obviously meant helping him clean up a large section of Blüdhaven's seedier parts, which meant pretty much _all _of it, really, but Slade didn't mind.

He had switched his two-toned mask for a black one, however, and had left his signature sword and power-staff behind. It wouldn't do if any of this scum happened to work for his employers and reported that he had attacked them.

Fighting alongside his little bird again was strangely invigorating for not including sex. Because there was an infuriating lack of sex. Slade wouldn't mind taking the young man to bed, but every suggestion even hinting at taking their relationship in that direction, was jokingly waved away. Sometimes Slade suspected that the boy was simply too naïve to understand that the man was flirting with him. The fact that he might be straight didn't disturb the man as much as Nightwing's obvious naivety; it wouldn't be the first time he had convinced a man to experiment, after all. Seduction was a game he was very fond of, but it was better if the other person _knew how to play_.

"Last one, you'll buy the coffee!" his temporary partner called out to him, and headed for the rooftops after tying the group of men up and penning a quick note to the cops. Slade chuckled and followed. Whoever got the last hit in, got the java… or snack… or whatever they felt they needed to keep their energy up. As he followed the young man up the office-building, he spotted something on the other side of the window, and smirked.

* * *

"What's this?"Dick asked as Slade appeared on the roof via the fire-escape, with two cups with lids on them and a box, which was tucked under his arm.

"Your coffee, my dear. You ask and you shall receive." Slade chuckled.

"That was the window I heard breaking? You stole _coffee_?" he asked, secretly amused but trying to look stern.

"I like that brand of coffee-vendor… and I couldn't resist the cookies…" Slade presented the box to him, and Dick burst out in a short laugh. "All right, maybe the guys below will get framed for that too… they deserve it." He cocked his head. "The police are on their way; let's take this picnic someplace quieter."

"I like the sound of that." Slade agreed with a purr.

* * *

Even that suggestive remark seemed to go over the lithe man's head, and Slade almost sighed to himself as they headed to a collection of old chimneys a few blocks over. There they could sit down out of sight and out of the wind.

Slade removed his mask as they did, something he had been doing since their first night 'together'. Nightwing had never commented, but hadn't returned the gesture of course. Slade knew he had people to protect, the Bat, for one, and maybe this new Robin as well, but he felt, strangely enough, disappointed and somewhat insulted at the lack of trust. He would gladly give his word not to reveal the Bat's secret, although he would enjoy tormenting the Dark Knight with the knowledge, of course.

That didn't seem to be happening, however. He didn't know what Nightwing had hoped to achieve over the last three days, apart from some clean-up help, but the time was up.

"Tonight's the last night." he said, trying to keep the regret he felt out of his voice.

* * *

Dick nodded.

"I know. I guess you haven't changed your mind? No, didn't think so." The man really didn't have to answer. "Well, can you leave him alone until tomorrow evening?"

"Agreed. Six PM."

"Good."

"Have you told him?" the man seemed curious.

"No. There's nothing he can do to stop you, but I know him. He would try to go after you himself… in this case, I think ignorance is bliss."

"He sounds like your twin." Slade smirked, sipping his coffee.

Richard smiled at the man who had been flirting shamelessly with him for three days. It started to get very hard to play oblivious… and to ignore his own naughty mind. He would, though. He couldn't get involved with a mercenary, just because he was rather hard up.

"Well, he's kind of a brother." he explained. "I'll stand in your way, you know. You'll have to go through me first."

"Yes. Again; my condolences." Slade nodded.

They sat in silence for a little while, before Slade shrugged.

"Let's not waste our last night arguing over business… how about something a little more… fun?"

"Absolutely!" Richard grinned. "I've heard about a drug-factory somewhere around here. The last cookie to the one who finds it!"

* * *

Slade growled as he, a few hours later, stretched out on the bed in the room he rented. Nightwing had still seemed to be bouncing with energy as they parted, but Slade himself had found it harder and harder to focus on anything but the other man's body. He was ashamed to admit it, but he needed to get laid. One way or another, he would hook up with someone before leaving Blüdhaven… it was a pity it didn't seem to be a certain bird, but apart from coming right out and suggest that they'd fuck, Slade had no more cards to play… and that last option was beneath him. He sighed and turned over to go to sleep. He felt lucky that he didn't have to start working until the afternoon the next day; he still hadn't sorted out his jet-lag and being up almost around the clock for the better part of a week didn't help. Sleep would be good.

* * *

Dick muttered over the speeding-tickets he was busy registering. His respite was almost up and his plan had yet to bear fruit. He would hunt down Rat and the others and make them pay for this… if he survived the night.

"Richard! Richard!"

The young man looked up at the happy calls, spotting a group of women. They all worked as administrative assistants in the building, not cops but office-staff, and he quite liked them… apart from one little thing.

"We are all going out tonight, Richard, please come with us!" a fake red-head begged.

"Yes, please! It's finally Friday and we want to dance all night!" an equally fake blonde piped up.

Dick opened his mouth to say no. The 'girls' which were all in the age-range from twenty-two to forty, had begged him to take them to a gay bar since they found out about his preferences. _How_ they had found out was still a mystery to him, but they seemed to be keeping his secret from his colleges, for which he was grateful. There were bastards everywhere, and Richard wanted to fit in, not stand out. The 'girls' had gladly sworn themselves to secrecy, claiming their 'gay-dar was never wrong'. Dick suspected it had something to do with the very deep cleavages they all seemed to have had sported during his first two weeks on the job.

As it was, he was prepared to say no this time as well, but then shrugged. Why not? Slade would never attack him in a room full of people, and he might be able to sneak out and get home later. He frowned to himself. Sneaking away, hiding, was very unlike him, but he still needed to buy some time, and if he could just keep Slade off his back for another day or two, this little problem might go away.

If it came to that, he had his uniform in a hidden compartment in his bag, and he could always bring that to the club. Besides, he had been hard for what seemed like days, and dancing with a hot man or two wouldn't be a total waste of time.

"Sure, girls. Where do you want to go?"

"I've heard of this new place, 'Bottom's Up', is that any good?" Fake blonde asked.

"No clue, never been, but if it's new I'm sure it's great." Robin grinned. Older clubs _did_ tend to be seedier. Not that he hung around any, though… much…

The 'girls' made the 'whooo!' noise known to all females partying as a group, and dispersed to go get ready.

* * *

Slade cursed as he saw his target leaving the station surrounded by a group of women in a party-mood. Wasn't the guy supposed to the gay? He didn't do a good job of that at the moment. He followed as they took a cab and watched them enter a club which seemed to confirm the cop's preferences after all. Slade sneered at its name. How juvenile. It looked like he would have another long night ahead of him, but perhaps the young man would get a few drinks in him, which would make the mercenary's job easier.

* * *

Earlier that night Richard had raided his locker for something to wear. He had already used the locker-room's shower, and made sure his hair was tightly secured in its usual ponytail. He wore it loose as Nightwing, but in this style it wasn't obvious that it was really that long.

He kept changes of clothes here, both uniforms and civilian, but it was hard to find something to go clubbing in. A pair of dark tight jeans would do well enough, but what else? In the back he found a t-shirt which made him smirk. He had saved it as a memento, but hadn't meant to keep it in his locker. It was from a training session, they were to test out a new range of bullet-proof vests, not to see if they _worked_, because if they didn't, it would be a very short test, but to make sure they knew what it felt like to be shot wearing one. It wasn't like the bullet felt like a light pat, more like a fist slamming into you, and you needed to be aware of this so not to panic if you were hit.

Dick's group had decided to wear t-shirts over the vests and keep them as a reminder.

As he unfolded the top, there were several holes in it, from chest to stomach, and even in the back, giving the dark steel gray fabric a rather battered look. He smelled it, making sure he had washed it, and then remembered that he had. That was, a college had volunteered to throw them all in the station's own washing-machine, and that's why it was still here.

Dick smirked and pulled it on. He muttered as he did so. Either he had gotten the wrong shirt back, or Smith had no idea how to use a washer. The shirt, once baggy enough to let him wear a vest under it, was now skin tight. He took a look at himself in the mirror and then smirked. Perfect.

* * *

After half an hour of watching people come and go from the club, and, worse, listening to a couple of men having rather noisy sex in the alley below him, Slade's patience had nearly ran out.

There was a risk that he would miss Grayson leaving from this distance, and, the next moment, he decided to follow the man inside, if only to find out more about him. There was a flight leaving for Washington DC early the next morning, and Slade hoped to be on it. There was always business to be done there, after all. Politics was getting dirtier by the year. It all depended on his results this night, however, so a little risk-taking might be worth it.

He climbed down the fire-escape quietly, the couple grunting away not even noticing him. Two pairs of trousers were flung over a dumpster along with a black shirt. The guy topping was somewhat on the large side and Slade snatched the clothes up, before disappearing up to the roof again. The pants fitted, just barely, and Slade made sure they disappeared down into his big leather-and metal boots, so it wouldn't show that the hem was much too short. The shirt, however, caused some trouble. After glancing down at the way the crowd was dressed, Slade ripped the arms off and left it open. If he tried not to flex any muscles, it might stay in one piece… and if it didn't, well… judging by what the other guests wore, that wouldn't be that much of a problem.

The _problem _was his weapons. He couldn't bring them, but brought his belt, having it hang loosely across his hips. He was just going it to observe, he told himself, and, if he should happen to find the young man alone in the men's room… well, he wouldn't really need any weapons.

* * *

Richard stood by the bar, taking a breather after dancing for half an hour. He had a drink in his hand and was sipping it. He didn't intend to get drunk, of course, that would be a virtual death-sentence, but someone had bought it for him, and that guy was a great dancer, so…

There was suddenly a bit of a hiss, traveling through the room in the form of whispers. Dick looked towards the door and nearly dropped his drink. Slade had just walked in. The cop quickly turned the other way. Dick Grayson, of course, would have no idea what Slade Wilson looked like, besides, the longer they spent in each other's presence; the more likely it would be for Slade to recognize him. The place was dark, however, with a lightshow which hopefully only helped obscure his features somewhat. It might not be enough, though, and the best thing he could do was keep out of the man's sight. It was obvious Slade knew he was here, but, Richard figured, there were enough people here to hide him for at least an hour or two, and maybe he could find an opportunity so slip away.

Dick checked his special, untraceable, cell phone for any messages. Nothing. Damn.

"May I buy you a drink?"

Dick's breath caught in his throat, as he spun around towards the deep voice. Fuck, Slade didn't waste any time, did he? Was the man just going to kill him in here? Poison him? No, not like Slade, but maybe the man was getting desperate. He had put off the hit for days, after all.

Dick knew that he couldn't act like he knew the man was a killer, apart from his looks, and the hottest man in the club had just offered to buy him a drink, after all.

* * *

As his target turned towards him, somewhat startled, by the look of it, Slade found it hard not to drown in those blue eyes. It seemed the rest of the young man's features just blurred when he looked at him.

_How the hell can a cop have eyes like that?_ the man asked himself.

"Err… yeah… sure…" the owner of those magical blues then stuttered, and Slade gestured to the bartender. "Two Vodka Red Bull's, please." he ordered.

The bartender, though busy with a crowded room, knew which clientele it paid to prioritize, and the drinks were sent his way within moments. Slade handed the man his charge-card. "Thank you. Give yourself a hundred dollar tip." Good behavior, Slade felt, should always be rewarded.

"Quite a big-shot, aren't you?" the cop by his side drawled, as he sipped on his drink.

"Not impressed yet? I'll have to work on that, then…" Slade smirked down on him.

"You do that…" the other agreed, eyes glittering.

Slade's smirk widened. Looked like he _finally_ found someone who knew how to play the game… it was just a pity that… Slade shrugged the thought off. Observe and… well, why not indulge a little, that was all he was here for. This way he might be able to make sure that the young man left alone.

"Here on your own?" he asked.

"No. Those are mine." Grayson said and pointed to a clutch of women dancing together. "From work." the man clarified. "You?"

"All alone, I'm afraid. Last night in the city."

"Are you here on business or pleasure?" the cop grinned at him.

"Well, the business is almost taken care of…" the man started.

"… you deserve some pleasure, then…" the young man's smile grew into an almost leer.

_Oh yes, this one plays __VERY well…._ Slade purred to himself.

"Dance?" Grayson suggested.

* * *

Dick's heart pounded as he was being led out on the crowded floor. Was he crazy? Perhaps, but he told himself that it was a smart move to keep the man in plain sight for as long as possible.

Someone knocked into him, pushing him up against his brand new, deadly, partner, and somehow they stayed that close. Slade's hands were soon exploring his body, and Robin's did the same. The taunt muscles, planes and curves, were distracting, but he told himself that he was feeling for weapons. Soon he realized that there were simply no places to hide any, though, at least not guns, and he went back to simply enjoying the esthetics.

He couldn't help it; the man aroused him beyond anything he had ever experienced. He didn't know if it was just his body and voice, or the playing with danger-part, but Richard started to really wish he could take this one home.

They had another drink, Dick only sipping at it. He already started to feel intoxicated, but maybe it was just desire.

Soon they were dancing again, and shortly thereafter kissing.

* * *

The young man fit against him perfectly, and those lips and tongue played thrilling games with his own. Dick, they had introduced themselves by now, moaned against him, and Slade grabbed his leg, lifting it and grinding their arousals together. He was very close to telling the Circle to shove it. At that moment the phone in his belt started to vibrate.

Cursing he ended the kiss.

"Phone. Might be work. Please excuse me. Don't go anywhere." he said, and the owner of the dazed blue eyes nodded.

* * *

Dick followed Slade, however, watching him closely as the man answered. It might be his employers demanding results, and that meant he had to get out of there when he still could.

He didn't have time to even as much as read the man's lips before his own phone rang, however.

"Yes?" he answered.

"H-hi? Nightwing?"

"Speaking."

"R-rat here… My- my boss says that, even though he had nothing at _all _to do with it, he has made sure to call off the hit… he's very glad to do you this favor, of course!"

"Of course." Richard smirked. "The hit man has been informed?"

"Yes, he would call him- I mean… I mean, he would make sure the _responsible guys _called him at once!"

"Good."

"So... so you see, your suspicions that the Circle was involved were wrong… it was just a nasty rumor, the boss thinks it's those O'Malley-creeps fault… you should look into that!"

"Thanks for the advice." Richard smirked and snapped his phone shut. The O'Malley's were a known thorn in the side of Rat's boss; it wasn't surprising that he would blame them.

Nightwing had worked his ass off, tracking down subjects of each Circle member, making it really clear to them that he knew that they had put a prize on a certain officer's head, and if he as much as got a paper-cut, they wouldn't like the results. With the help of an unknowing Slade he had then offered several demonstrations, until the Circle all felt the pressure and had, apparently, caved.

Richard looked up and saw Slade walking towards him, and there was an almost happy smirk on the mercenary's face.

"Good news?" Dick asked.

"A job got cancelled." the man admitted.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Richard managed to frown.

"Not me. It was something I would rather avoid doing anyway." Slade's smirk grew.

"And here I was, ready to console you and make you forget your worries." Richard grinned.

"In fact, when I think about it, it was the chance of a life-time." Slade amended.

* * *

Midnight was long gone, and so were most seams on Slade's borrowed shirt. Richard had become noticeable more relaxed by now, even agreeing to a few shots. Slade suspected it was his own way of acting that was reflected on the younger man. As the club was slowly starting to empty, his former victim stretched his arms in the air, groaning.

"I think it's time to head home. I'm going to check my bag out from storage." he said. He then turned around to smile at the older man. "Coming?"

Slade smirked. He was pretty sure he would.

* * *

They had taken a cab the few short blocks, and Richard barely had time to drop his bag on the floor before Slade dragged him down the hall, quickly finding the bedroom.

"Mmm… Wilson…" he gasped as the man pushed him on top of the bed before covering him with his own body.

"I just want to remind you… I have an early flight… I can't stay…" the man grunted into his ear as he made sure Dicks zipper would never work properly again, being ripped open like that.

"I know… you have my number… if you're ever in town again…" Richard panted, removing the pitiful rags which had started the night as a rather fancy shirt. He lifted his hips eagerly when his trousers and underwear were removed as one. His own top was only in a slightly better condition than Slade's shirt, after being pulled and lifted half the night, the bullet-holes now looking like he had been made by cannonballs.

"I will."

It might have been the empty promise of a one-night stand, but something made Richard inclined to believe the mercenary. Of course, if they met again, Richard's secret was even more in danger. He was thankful for the dark room, Slade almost nothing more than a silhouette to him, because the dark was about to be the only thing hiding him.

"Mm… beautiful…"

Apparently that darkness didn't do a good enough job. Richard arched as the man's hands traveled from his shoulders all the way down to his hips, caressing them. Slade was kneeling between his thighs now, forcing them apart. He closed his knees around the man's waist, pulling him in closer for a kiss.

* * *

The young body was hot and ready beneath him, displaying its eagerness in every pant, moan and arch. Slade loved open lovers, those who weren't afraid to show their pleasure, because they were usually not shy about _giving_ it either.

"D-drawer." Richard gasped as he pulled himself closer.

Slade got the message and reached for the bedside table. A bit of blind rummaging found a couple of condoms and some lube.

"No more foreplay?" he chuckled, the sound almost a growl.

"Can't... take it." the man under him panted.

"Sure you can take me?" Slade asked and brought the man's hand to his crotch.

The gasp he heard as the hand closed around him was almost like a whimper.

"Fuck, I felt you were big before, but…" Richard said.

"I'll go easy on you." Slade promised, feeling strangely generous for a change.

"You… you'll have to… It's… it's been a while."

Slade thought he could feel the heat from the cop's cheeks at the admission.

"I can tell… You need it so much." he purred. The grip around his cock tightened in agreement, and Slade ripped a condom-package open and rolled the cool latex on, the sensation only making his cock throb harder.

"Fuck me…" Richard groaned under him as Slade slathered his cock with lube, adding to the pre-lubed condom, and then pushed his fingers against the young man's opening.

* * *

Dick gasped, spreading his legs wider as first one finger, then two, pushed into him. It really _had_ been a long time, but his body seemed more grateful than reluctant.

"God, yes… more… it's okay… more…. Please!" he begged, suddenly wondering if he would let himself make these sounds if Slade had know who he was. He had a feeling he might have tried to hold back in that case, and was glad that he didn't feel the need to do so now… He was a one night stand, just another faceless notch on the great Deathstroke's belt, and he didn't mind _one_ bit.

"Need you…" he whispered, invitingly raising his hips once more.

* * *

Slade was already promising himself that he was going to find some business in this part of the world again, very soon, as he guided the tip of his cock to the young man's entrance. He lifted Grayson's legs up on his shoulders, and then pushed. Their groans mixed and soon Slade felt himself sinking into a hot, thigh heat. He had to stop himself from thrusting, forcing himself to keep still for a few moments.

"Fuck… _fuck_ you're hung…" Richard gasped.

"You okay?" Slade managed.

"Hell yes… you… you can move…"

The mercenary started with short, shallow thrusts, slowly easing himself deeper into the body below him. Once he was completely seated, he studied the flushed panting face under him, half hidden in shadow.

* * *

"A-all in?" Dick gasped. He hadn't believed it when the cock just seemed to keep pushing into him, stretching and filling him to his limits.

"Yes… ready to be fucked?" Slade asked him with a leer which glinted in the dark.

"Give me everything you got, Wilson." Dick answered, more confidently than he felt.

"Oh, yes… I'll do that, all right." the man chuckled, pulled out almost entirely and then slammed forwards again.

Richard arched his head back, moaning as the pace increased. His legs slipped down to the crooks of Slade's arms, and, after a moment, the man let them go so he could wind them around his waist again instead.

Even while it was still going on, Richard knew he was getting the fuck of his life.

* * *

Slade grunted as the man beneath him started to meet his thrusts, just as eagerly as Slade was fucking him. He wanted to go even deeper, though, and grabbed the man's legs again, spreading them as far apart as they would go.

"Hold them open for me… good boy… spread yourself." he purred as the young man obeyed without question. He was surprisingly submissive for a cop, but, then again, Slade wouldn't accept anything else. He pulled out completely, waiting for the needy little sound the man made, before plunging into him again, harder and deeper than ever. He could feel the other man's cock rubbing and leaking against his stomach as he pressed his partner's body down with his own, and leaned on only one hand to be able to reach in and grab it. Officer Grayson wasn't too badly endowed himself, something which Slade had already noticed, and he seemed to be very grateful for the attention.

"I- I need… please… please come in me… please!" the man begged suddenly begged.

* * *

Dick didn't know why he had said what he had just did, he just knew that he needed it.

"Please… fill me…" he gasped.

* * *

Slade didn't hesitate, he pulled out, ripped off the condom and pushed straight back in into the well-lubricated hole. As soon as he did, his lover cried out, bucking and arching beneath him, clenching around his cock in spasms, as he shot several white streaks all over both Slade and himself.

* * *

In a daze Richard felt the man tense before he upped the pace, giving his a few more hard thrusts before he grunted and a welcomed wetness filled him, stinging his rather sore ass, but making him gasp and shudder yet again, a weak little drizzle escaping his cock.

Regaining his breath after that was one of the hardest things Richard had ever done. Slade rolled off him, apparently having similar problems.

"As I said… call me… _please_…" Dick panted.

* * *

Slade had borrowed the shower, and was now dressed in the stolen pants and his boots, looking down on the dust-rags of a shirt.

"You can borrow a t-shirt form me." his lover offered, and Slade looked up, spotting the man still on the bed, on his stomach, naked and very inviting. He had that plane to catch, however, and, although changing his plans was tempting, he seldom did that, not for a lover, and even less so for a one-night stand.

"I'd be grateful, but you know I might not be able to return it." he said, feeling honesty was the best way to crush any such hopes.

"Oh, I know." the other said lightly, and got up from the bed to rummage through a wardrobe. "This is just a work-out tee, which has always been on the large side… you can have it. I won't miss it."

"Thank you." Slade squeezed into the thing, wondering if it might cut off his circulation, while young Grayson smirked.

"I'm sorry I don't have any big boy's clothes."

"I'm just glad I don't have to try to call down a cab half naked." Slade smirked.

"Oh, this is Blüdhaven. People have seen worse." Richard shrugged with a small smile. "Trust me."

"I do." Slade nodded. "My flight leaves in just a few hours. I must get back to my hotel."

"No problem." the young man reached up and gave him a very sweet kiss. "Thank you. The night has been… memorable."

"Likewise." Slade grinned and returned the kiss, groping the other man's naked ass as he did so. "I hope to refresh that memory again someday."

"Please do. The threat of amnesia is very real, after all."

Slade chuckled and, with a last kiss, left.

* * *

Richard smiled blissfully to himself and stretched out on the bed. Morning was just around the corner, but the shower could wait. He wanted to feel Slade inside him for just a bit longer. He clenched his ass, wincing from the delightful burning, wondering if his ass would ever be back to normal. No matter. He just hoped a certain mercenary would be back soon enough, even though he also hoped that _he_ wouldn't be the target this time.

* * *

Slade collected his weapons and uniform before returning to his room to pack. His weapons took some concealing in the hidden compartment of his suitcase and he only had so much time to spare. He saved time by throwing on a shirt over the borrowed tee, as he called a cab, only changing his trousers, which were too short, and shoes.

Two hours later he was on the plane, staring blindly at a page in the airline's own magazine, which was filled with more ads than actual content. He had a page with a cross-word-puzzle open, but wasn't focusing on it. Something was on his mind. No. _Someone_. No, _two_ some ones. He had kept his eye open for Nightwing as he retrieved his uniform, but hadn't even seen a shadow of him. He was a bit… annoyed, perhaps, that he hadn't been able to… well, to say goodbye, to explain what had been going on. Maybe promising Grayson's safety from him from now on… but it was more than that. The way a strand of Grayson's hair had come free and spread over his pillow, the way this tee-shirt he was still wearing smelled… something was not quite right, but he couldn't put his fingers on it. He growled and closed his eye in irritation.

"Nightwing is Grayson." someone next to him suddenly said.

"Excuse me?" Slade turned to the young voice, piercing the little boy to his right with his gaze.

"I said the right wing is the gray one." the boy explained, pointing to a children's puzzle next to the crossword. It was made up of animal-parts and you were apparently supposed to match the correct parts together, creating the fantasy-creature pictured. "I saw that at once."

Slade blinked, and then burst out laughing.

"Thank you, young man. You are quite right. I should have seen that at once as well."

He leaned back in his seat, the laugh giving way to a rather broad grin.

Yes. He would definitely travel to Blüdhaven again soon. Perhaps with the next flight back.

_The End._

* * *

A/N: Damn, I hope you loved this story, because I do! Soooo much! Yeah, yeah, I'm normally a BIT more humble and laid back, but I LOVE this… If you didn't I don't wanna be your friend any more… -pouts- I like EVERYTHING I publish, although in different ways, but writing this was like having a love-affair with it… I just went around grinning all the time, and couldn't wait to spend time with it, and… am I starting to sound nuts? I'll shut up then… and leave you to effing agree with me OR ELSE! ;)  
I know that in the canon universe, Slade knows Nightwing's identity, but I ignored it... and I'm a bit tired of Slade instantly knowing who Robin is from just a glance... he's only human (well... mainly) and being smart doesn't mean he needs to be able to figure EVERYTHING out at once... yay for slightly flawed Slade! ;)


	17. 17 Alien Matchmaker

**Friday 17 December**

Merry Christmas **SladinForever**!  
SladinForever happened to suggest something I felt like I already had written, but I got an idea from it and suggested something else, and she was kind enough to let me switch… ;) I hope you like it!

I think it's fine to be inspired by other writers, but whenever I get an idea from something I have written myself, I get all embarrassed… but I had to write this anyway. It's inspired by something Starfire (of all people!) says in "The Best Christmas Present Ever". It made sense to me back then, and walking to work the other day, I figured out how to use it. You don't have to have read that for this, of course.

Freestanding story.

Genre: silly. Not real crack, perhaps, but try not to take this seriously. Please. You'll only hurt yourself.

Warnings: well, the above.

**

* * *

**

Alien Matchmaker

Movie-night had just ended at the Tower, and they were still sitting around, finishing off the popcorn and talking about the movie, which tonight had been Prince of Persia. Robin was only half paying attention to the boisterous conversation, mostly featuring Beast Boy and Cyborg, because he had his nose buried in the DVD manual. It was a new player, and he wanted to look through all the nifty features before Beast Boy broke them.

Some sort of question-game was going on, and apparently, Robin was up.

"Favorite pizza topping, Robin; salami or anchovies?" Beast Boy asked.

"Salami." Robin shrugged, and turned a page.

"Who would you rather marry, Jake Gyllenhaal or Gemma Arterton?" Cyborg's question came at him.

"Jake Gyllenhaal." Robin mumbled, and continued reading. He only knew something was wrong, when the room turned very quiet. "What?" he asked, looking up at stunned faces. Then he blinked. "Hey, wait, what was the question?"

"Don't pull that! You heard it!" Beast Boy's grin reached his ears. "Robin and Jake, sitting in a tree!"

The room exploded in jokes, laughter and questions, and Robin soon tired of it.

"Fine! Fine, I'm gay! Lay off it!" he growled and stomped out of the room. The slam of a door down the hall told the other's that the boy wonder was out of earshot, and they all stared at each other.

"What? He… he really_ is_…?" Beast Boy stammered.

"Seems so." Raven said with a little shrug.

"Damn." Cyborg stared after Robin.

They were quiet for a moment before Beast Boy sighed.

"Dudes… you know what this means, right? Tomorrow's damage control…"

"Yeah. Better heat up the waffle iron."

"This… this thing is okay?" Starfire asked carefully.

"Yeah, Star, sure it's okay!" Cyborg told her. "A bit sudden, but…"

"There's nothing wrong with being gay, Star. It just means that you are attracted to your own gender. Men to men and women to women." Raven knew some explanation might be in order. "Some people think it is wrong, but there are people out there to hate anything…" she added dryly.

"You think he's dating someone?" Beast Boy asked.

"No… who? I mean, it's tough enough to find someone for _any_ of us, someone who wouldn't be interested just because we're heroes… but another guy?" Cyborg shook his head.

The conversation eventually moved onto other topics, but it was a very quiet and thoughtful alien who returned to her room an hour or so later.

* * *

As Starfire understood it, her beloved leader wanted to marry a man. Well. He should _get_ to then, shouldn't he? In her world, Robin should have anything he wanted. He fought for her and the rest of the team every day, and if something like this made him happy, then happy she would make sure he got! It was her responsibility too, since the Titan's were her family on Earth. Also as a princess, and because of the fact that she was slightly older than Robin, she had the right to make these kinds of decisions for him, she couldn't imagine that rule not being valid on earth, since it was so obvious.

She withdrew a notepad which had glow-in-the-dark unicorns on the front, and found a pink, glittery pen, with equally pink, glittery ink, and started working.

_

* * *

_

Let's see now. Men

. Starfire presumed that Robin wanted someone from this planet, or she could have considered a few from her own. What kind of man did Robin want? She thought of Beast Boy and Cyborg, because she knew Robin surely loved them, but then shook her head. They were too much of pranksters for Robin. The Titan's leader was a serious young man, and he would probably prefer to be with someone similar. Aqualad was pretty serious, she presumed, but, on the other hand, she liked him quite a bit too… She scratched out the name she had started writing on the list, just feeling_ slightly_ guilty. Speedy then? Maybe not the most serious young man on the planet, but he and Robin seemed like a good match. The difficulty here was the distance, plus the fact that they were rather competitive. Robin always gloated for days when he won one of their little games, and sulked for days when he lost.

It would _have _to be a warrior, though, and not a weak one. Someone who challenged Robin. To her, it was inconceivable to marry someone who was obviously weaker than you, and Robin could beat _anybody_. Well. Practically. There _was_ someone, though… he was older, strong, an amazing warrior… it was just the little fact that he was a _bad_ man that was a problem, but she should at least _talk_ to him. After writing down and circling the name 'Slade', Starfire put the pad aside and soon fell asleep with a smile on her face.

* * *

Having a ball of green energy explode unexpectedly in front of your feet was not something which put Slade in a good mood. In fact he almost had to change his pants.

He had been quietly checking out a route a delivery-truck would take in a few days, carrying a little something he had been paid to retrieve, when the attack had come.

He threw himself back, whipping out his bo-staff and prepared himself for the onslaught of Titans. As it turned out, however, there was only one, and not his favorite one either.

"I do apologize, I need a speech with you." the redhead hovering a safe distance above him said.

_You __NEED an English class or two…_ Slade sullenly thought to himself but he was curious enough to stand down from kill-mode to maim-mode.

"Yes?" he asked gruffly.

"Are you of the people who hate the ones who love men?" the scantily clad girl asked.

"Pardon?" Slade didn't speak Starfire, and he didn't have a dictionary either.

"I apologize." The girl seemed to falter in the air. "What I mean is the gay. Are you a hater of the gay?"

"I see." Slade was now a little above intrigued, and didn't take advantage of the fact that Starfire was now within reach, should he jump. "In that case, no. I don't hate gays."

"Oh that is indeed very good!" the young woman trilled excitedly.

"Are you perchance doing some sort of survey?" Slade asked, leaning back against a wall. He really wanted to know where this was going.

"No, I am on the search for a suitable husband for our Robin." the alien explained.

* * *

Dropping one's jaw while wearing a metal mask both hurt and made an embarrassing sound.

"You… Robin's gay?"

"Yes! He is indeed! And he is proud!" Starfire said. The last thing was something she had picked up from a conversation between the other Titans, but she thought it sounded very positive, and it was important to present the bride, or groom, she wasn't sure which one Robin was, in a positive light. With this in mind, she continued. "He is also of a young age, has a very good body for various exercises, and he is, I have been informed, 'not bad in the basement department'."

"Excuse me…?" Slade asked slightly faintly.

"Oh, the last information came from Raven, after she once happened to surprise him during the changing of the clothes. I am not sure as to the meaning, but I think she meant that he is a good mechanic."

"Really?" Slade wondered where the cameras were. Someone _must_ be filming this, surely?

"Yes, our garage is in the basement. We also have storage there, but I cannot see how that would make any sense."

"No… of course." Slade nodded, because that seemed like the safest thing to do. Suddenly he found himself wondering why the girl was telling him all this. After all, she was preaching to the choir here. "And what does this have to do with me?"

"I have decided to approach you with the offer to do the duty of a husband." Starfire calmly informed him.

"Does Robin know about this?" Slade found himself asking after a long moment of silence.

"No, he does not. This is my surprise gift to him." the redhead said proudly.

A smirk started spreading across Slade's face.

"I see. Well. I am tempted to accept."

"Please firmly hold your knaarlogs!" the girl held up a hand. "I do have requirements of you that must be fulfilled."

"Such as?" the man asked, wondering what knaarlogs were.

The alien pulled out a hideous notebook from her belt and flipped through it.

"First requirement; You will have take lodging in the Tower."

Slade only nodded, waiting for the deal breaker.

"You will take turn with us to choose movies, and will not do the hogging of the bowl of goodies."

"Fine." Slade snorted, trying not to chuckle.

"You will try to stay a strong warrior for as long as you are able."

"No problem there." the man smirked smugly.

"You are not to marry anyone else or be untrue in your faith to Robin."

"My honor would forbid it." Slade chuckled now, unable to help himself.

"You will no longer be a bad man."

"Ah." He had known this would come up. "Well, that is what I do for a living, little lady." he pointed out.

Starfire looked depressed, and slowly floated down until she almost touched the ground in front of the man.

"That was my fear. Are there no other livings that you can make?"

"That might be difficult."

"Have I pointed out the suppleness of Robin's body? I have been informed the rear end might be of particular interest? It is very fine. I might be able to get you some pictures…"

Slade would do a lot for pictures like that, but tried not to salivate. It would look so silly, seeping from his mask.

He thought things through. It wasn't like the marriage would ever happen, of course, but maybe he could trick this girl- he interrupted his thoughts with a snort. A_ gnat_ could trick this one, no problem. Very well. Playing along might prove to be very fruitful after all.

"You have convinced me. I promise to give up my career as a 'bad man' as soon as we are married."

"No. I am sorry. I have to insist it will happen at the eng- ega- ing" Starfire looked down on her noted. "I apologize, the _engagement_."

"And when will this be?" Slade asked.

Starfire looked confused.

"I am not quite sure. I am not familiar with earthly courting rituals. I only asked Raven for a few things."

"Well, my dear… maybe I can help you out?" Slade offered, his smile almost turning evil.

* * *

Robin had had a pretty good week, considering, and was looking forward to a quiet Friday night with his friends. After unexpectedly coming out to them last weekend, the worst response he had gotten was some teasing… oh, and Beast Boy's blatant endeavor to be politically correct, which mostly consisted of things like "Oh! Look at that chick! Well... if you like that sort of thing."

Everything was slowly getting back to normal, however, and Robin couldn't be happier. Starfire was acting a bit weird, but Raven had told him that she had tried to explain things to her, so at least no very embarrassing questions was thrown at him. There were some strange ones, though, like his favorite foods, and what kind of clothes he thought looked good on guys, and what kind of music he thought was romantic. Still, Robin had no idea what was about to hit him.

* * *

He was up on the roof when it happened, watching the first stars come out and enjoying the night which was unusually warm for the season, even for Jump. Christmas was just around the corner and everything was peaceful. Suddenly he was grabbed, a black hood was pulled over his head, and he was lifted into the air.

"Hey, what the-?" he yelled, more angry than afraid.

"Please Robin, do not fear." He heard a voice say.

"Starfire?" He could smell her perfume now, when the shock had died down somewhat.

"Yes, Robin. Congratulations and celebrations!"

"Err… okay? Star, what _is _this?"

"A glorious surprise!"

"I see." Robin sighed. His team must have set something up. He knew they had been too quiet! If this was a 'welcome out of the closet'-party, Starfire might just as well drop him now, he would still be dead from embarrassment in a moment.

"Here we are!" the young woman carrying him suddenly said, and Robin tried to listen for any clues. He heard waves against a rocky beach and chirping crickets, but nothing else. He thought he could smell something delicious, though, which made his mouth water. It was about dinner-dime, and he had only had time for a lunch on the run, so he was starving.

He was being gently guided down into a chair, but as he was about to remove his hood, Starfire told him not to. He lowered his hands, muttering something about hating surprises, and then something tightened around his chest, like some kind of seatbelt, leaving his arms free.

"What's this? Afraid I'll fall off?"

"It is part of the deal I have been happy to make for you." Starfire chirped. "It was decided that you might be prone to doing the asking of the questions later and the attacking first, I think it was your husband said."

"My-my _what_?" Robin now wondered if he had guessed wrong after all.

"Oh, not yet!" Starfire let him know. "We are going to do the signing of the contract of marriage now."

"There. All done. I believe this means he's mine?" a new voice said, although it wasn't completely new to Robin.

"_Slade?" _So far Robin had respected his friend's wish about leaving the hood on, thinking it all must be some kind of set-up, but now he ripped it off. It _was_ Slade. Sitting across the table, in his mask and a... a _tuxedo_? His so called friend was standing next to him, smiling a dazzlingly happy smile. Robin knew to fear that expression, but never more so than now.

"Starfire… what's going on?" he asked carefully, bending his hands behind the chair to undo the restraint. He found it locked.

"One moment, please." the alien said and scribbled something on a piece of paper. "There. You are married! My happiest congratulations!"

"Wonderful. Now if you would excuse my young husband and me?" Slade said smugly.

"Oh! Yes! I forgot about the night of consummation! Be happy!" the girl said and flew away.

"Star! Come back! What-" it became clear to Robin that no amount of yelling would get his teammate to return, so he turned to Slade instead. He wanted to scream and rage, but, somehow, just a tired "What's going on?" came out.

"We are married." the man in the mask explained. "Well… according to your crazy little friend, anyway. She so desperately wants you to be happy."

"With _you_?" Robin spluttered.

"She thought long and hard about it… for _her_, anyway. Look at this." Slade handed him some kind of list and what looked like a contract. Robin read the requirements for a suitable husband, groaning as he did so, and then the ultimatums the villain and the redhead had came up with.

"You'll live in the Tower?" Robin gaped.

"Yes. It was very important to her that the team wouldn't split up, and she thought you would want to continue working…"

Robin glared at the man. Slade's voice was half serious, half whimsical, like the man scarcely could believe this himself.

"You… you'll give up being a 'bad man'?" Robin couldn't help an amused snort at that one.

"The things I do for you." Slade said and, to Robin's amazement, reached up and removed his mask. The teen gaped at the face underneath. The white hair, the short, neatly trimmed beard, the grey-blue eye, the other covered by a black eye patch, which the man, somehow, actually got away with without it looking too weird. Robin's eyes continued to study the wide, chiseled features which went so very well with the rest of the body, not to mention the voice. "Your turn." the man said, and then suddenly reached forwards and pulled Robin's mask off.

"No!" Robin tried to cover his face, but Slade only tutted.

"There, there, Richard. Bruce and I are old… acquaintances."

"I'm being married off to a friend of my adoptive father? What is this? A _really _bad Harlequin-story?"

"I wouldn't say 'friend'…" Slade admitted.

"Even better. Well. Worse. Just send in the script, it will be published within a week." Robin muttered.

"A contract s a contract, Robin." the man pointed out.

"Right, but _I _didn't sign anything."

"No, you gave her the complete authorization to do so for you… by signing this." Another slip of paper was put on the table.

"I _never_- That's my signature!" Robin stared at bottom of the page. "Wait, this… we were signing autographs and she asked if I could sign one more thing and I…"

"Careless, my boy."

"Shut up! How could she _do_ this?"

"As I said, I believe she acted with your best interests in mind."

"That is what's so damn scary!" Robin growled. "Still, this isn't legal, no court would accept this."

"Of course not. Shall we eat?"

"Are you insane?"

"No. Your friend, though… who knows? I'm just along for the ride. Very entertaining so far."

Robin sighed, and closed his eyes.

"Just let me go."

"According to the contract I'm allowed to keep you tied to the chair until after the main course."

"And after that?"

"I intend to follow the contract to a T." Slade said. "You have my word on that."

Robin studied the man for a moment, and then nodded.

"Okay." He didn't exactly trust the man, but he knew Slade always kept his promises, for good or bad.

"Then we'll start with the appetizers… and how do you enjoy the setting? You haven't commented on it." Slade pointed out.

"Been too busy having several breakdowns and panic-attacks." Robin snorted and looked around. He blinked. "This is… nice…"

They were on an island, no bigger than a tennis-court, which he knew very well, since the Titan's visited now and then for picnics and swimming. It was made up of just a small beach, a few trees and rocks, but now the trees held paper lanterns, and the table sat sturdily on a wooden decking under a canopy of flowing white fabric. A little way away was another temporary structure, this one an Arabic-style tent, large enough to walk right into, with walls of a thicker textile, lit from within with a warm, yellow glow.

Robin's eyes wandered to the table, beautifully set on a white linen table-cloth, burning candles and covered plates of food.

"Wine or water?" Slade asked.

"Water. You are _not_ getting me drunk." Robin growled.

"Afraid what you might agree to do?" Slade smirked and poured them both water from a pitcher which also held ice and slices of lemon. The man then removed the covers of the small plates in front of them, revealing fresh oysters, still in their shell, along with some garnish.

"Oysters? _Really_? You suggested this?" Robin arched an eyebrow at the man.

"No, I believe _you_ did… she asked about your favorite foods, didn't she? A chef put together a menu based on that."

"Why couldn't I have just said pizza?" Robin asked the universe in general, but the only answer he got was a chuckle from Slade. "So…" the teen continued, picking up a small fork to poke at the garnish. "Tell me how this happened again?"

* * *

A little while later Robin found himself laughing to the point of crying, albeit against his will. Slade's description of the negations, which had taken several days, was just too funny. It was a pity it was happening to _him_, but Robin wasn't too worried, actually.

"Okay, and so this kidnapping part was…?" he asked.

"A blind date."

"Of course. But she knows about blind dates, she has watched enough romantic comedies…"

"Ah, yes, but I explained to her that_ male_ blind dating was different, and she knew nothing about_ that_ kind…" Slade told him smugly.

Robin shook his head.

"I can't believe she bought that, but then again, I've never been on one either, so…"

"Well, then. As far as _you_ know, this _is_ what happens." Slade smirked and raised his glass to him. Robin somehow found himself doing the same.

"So, you usually date guys?" Robin dared to ask

"It happens. Been a bit too busy lately, though, so this was a nice change of pace." Slade said. "I quite like the music you picked… very fitting for the season."

Robin listened to the low tune which seemed to come from nowhere in particular and tried to remember what he had answered when Starfire had attacked him with a thousand and one questions.

"It's the soundtrack from 'Love Actually' isn't it?" he said, and then nodded as 'Christmas is all around us' started. "Yup…" Robin rolled his eyes.

"Well, this _particular_ song may not become a favorite of mine…" Slade grinned.

"Thank god, you have_ some_ taste." Robin muttered.

"Of course I do, I chose to marry you, didn't I?"

"We are _not_ married." Robin insisted. "Please don't even _joke_ about that anymore."

"We'll laugh about it on every anniversary." Slade smirked. "I'm sorry." he added when he saw Robin's glare. "I can't help myself… this is a really… unique... situation."

"Yes. One of a kind. Literally." Robin nodded. "Won't happen again."

"Is the thought really that horrendous?" Slade asked curiously.

"You are a criminal!" Robin pointed out.

"No, not while we are married. Remember the contract." Slade said innocently. "So… any other objections?"

"You… I…" Robin felt a bit stumped. The criminal-thing was actually the only really strong hurdle he could think of, but he tried desperately to come up with more."  
"Bruce would hate you." he added lamely.

"You think so? I was going to suggest that we celebrate Christmas in Gotham this year, but if you would rather wait…?" the man said.

Robin chuckled dryly.

"Yeah… let's wait with that happy news, shall we...?" he snorted.

"Very well. But maybe we should begin the main course?" Slade suggested instead.

"Sounds good." Robin nodded. His mouth watered as he the lid came off the dishes: filet mignon with a mushroom and wine sauce with slices of roasted potatoes. "It _looks_ good too." he added.

"Very." Slade agreed. "So, Robin, I might not be your dream-date, but why not try to enjoy ourselves? I'm sure we could find something to talk about. What's it like being the leader of the Titans?"

"What's it like to be a criminal?" Robin countered.

"Lonely." Slade smiled somewhat wistfully. Robin blinked in surprise, his cutlery clattering against the plate.

"Oh?" he said weakly, not sure how to respond to what seemed to be honesty from the man.

"Well, sometimes." Slade shrugged.

"Me… me too. Sometimes." Robin mumbled.

"In a house full of Titans? Really?" Slade asked, although not teasingly.

"Yeah… I mean… sometimes…. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only… well…"

"The only adult?" Slade filled in.

"Yeah. But we're teenagers, so…" Robin excused his team.

"I'm sure a certain level of maturity couldn't hurt, nonetheless." Slade nodded. "If you ever need to talk… or vent some frustration…"

"Are you telling me I should come to you?" Robin gaped.

"Well, what's a husband for?" Slade chuckled.

"I've been _trying_ to come up with some uses…" Robin muttered, and then blushed as Slade raised a suggestive eyebrow in his direction.

"Jokes aside, we could arrange for an hour or two of truce once in a while." Slade suggested. "You know I'll honor it."

"Yes, but why?" Robin asked, confused. "Why would you agree to do something like that?"

"Because you fascinate me." Slade answered simply. "You have since I first heard about you, but lately… well, let's just say Starfire's suggestion wasn't an unwelcomed one."

"What? You'd seriously… I mean, you would really consider being married to me?" Robin said, feeling a strange thrill he didn't quite know what to call.

"Well, apart from the horrible point in the contract where I have to give up my livelihood…" Slade shrugged.

"You should be more afraid of living in the same house as Beast Boy." Robin huffed. "You can always do something else."

"Like what?" Slade asked curiously.

"I don't know… you like to scare people and bring them pain, so why not a dentist?"

"I think you've got me wrong, Robin." Slade snorted. "I might work around, and sometimes _outside_, the law, but I'm not _evil_."

Robin laughed and then they continued talking about possible, and impossible, career-changes for the man, until Slade stood up.

"Forgive me, I forgot…" he said, and circled Robin's chair. The teen was surprised by the fact that he didn't tense as the man did this; he simply didn't feel threatened. A moment later the restraint holding him to the chair was gone.

"Thanks." Robin murmured.

"How about we stretch out legs a little before dessert?" Slade said, and the teen readily agreed.

He stood up and actually did stretch his arms over his head, before looking around.

"Not much room here." he noted.

"There's a path." the man told him. "Come."

Robin_ did_ tense for a moment as Slade's hand came to rest at the small of his back as they walked, but since it didn't wander any further, the teen let it be.

The short little walk was outlined with lanterns as well, making Robin smile.

"She's been working hard for this. I almost feel sorry for her, since her plans will fail…" he said.

"Well maybe…?" Slade purred suggestively.

"I don't feel_ that_ sorry for her." Robin chuckled and bumped his shoulder into the man's chest playfully as they walked.

"Well, _you_ are the one who has to explain it to her." Slade chuckled.

"Oh, I'll just say you changed your mind." Robin grinned.

"Don't you dare! She'll kill me." Slade growled, making Robin laugh again.

The walk around the island didn't take more than around five minutes, at a very slow pace, and then they were back at the site.

"What's this tent?" Robin asked and peered in through the flap, his face immediately turning a deep red. The whole interior was like one large bed, with mountains of pillows and blankets.

"Well this _is_ a date and a wedding night in one." Slade smirked behind him.

"I hope you understand that you can forget that." Robin snorted and crossed his arms.

"Of course. If we made love the contract would be valid and I'd have to become a dentist." Slade chuckled.

"So it's not valid until… And you don't want to…?" Robin told himself he was just trying to clarify things and didn't feel disappointed at all.

"Of course I do. But I was hoping this little charade might open up for similar opportunities in the future…" the man smirked.

"Oh." Was all Robin could say to that.

"It's starting to get chilly. Shall we have dessert inside? No molesting of virgins will occur against their will." Slade suggested.

Robin had noticed the chill and nodded.

"Alright. As long as you remember that last part…" he added with a haughty glare. "Hey, how are we going to get off the island?"

"A boat will come and pick us up tomorrow morning." Slade answered.

"_What_? We… we have to spend the night?" Robin blushed.

"Or swim." Slade shrugged. "Don't worry, we have food and water, there's a facility set up further in the island for any other needs, and, as I pointed out, you'll leave here a virgin… if that's what you want."

"Great." Robin muttered. He pulled off his boots before going inside the tent, and Slade followed suit, carrying a tray with the dessert. Deciding to make himself comfortable, Robin took off his cape and belt as well, and, since it was a lot warmer inside, he pulled off his red top, leaving him in his green short-sleeved shirt and tights.

Slade took off his jacket, bowtie and cummerbund. He then opened a few buttons at the top of his shirt and rolled up the sleeves.

"Much better. I hope you don't mind?"

"No, no, as long as you don't strip completely." Robin grinned and took a seat in the middle of the huge 'bed' since there was nowhere else to sit.

"I don't have the same restrictions regarding you, just so you know." Slade said generously.

"Great to know." the teen snorted and looked around. Raised above the 'bed' was a sturdy stand holding a small heater, which made the tent warm and cozy. Along the walls were an assortment of boxes and containers, probably full of food and other essentials.

"That remind me, I have a gift for you." Slade said pulled a box out of his pocket. A small, black, velvety box.

"Slade…" Robin frowned warningly. "It that-?"

"Open it. The gift is in the contract. You did _read_ it, didn't you?"

"I skimmed it! I was tied down, abandoned on an island with my mortal enemy, I wasn't about to settle down and_ read_!" Robin objected.

"I do like pet-names, but feel free to substitute 'mortal enemy' with 'husband' or something, any time." Slade chuckled. "Though, in my experience, that's practically the same thing."

"Shut up, honey." Robin deadpanned.

"At once, dear." Slade gave back.

The teen sighed the sigh of the extensively tortured soul that he was, and opened the lid of the box.

"This… is this…?"

"An USB memory drive. Very small, as you can see, but you can fit ten Gigabyte on there."

"I… okay… thanks…" Robin mumbled, staring down at the gold metal rectangle, which was not much longer than a thumb's nail.

"You are welcome. The real gift is what's _on_ it, of course." Slade said with a dry chuckle.

"Oh. Right. And that is?" Robin asked, feeling a bit foolish.

"Two things. First, I should explain, the nature of the gift was supposed to be something to bring us together and also be about something we have in common." Slade started. "The first gift is the chemical formula for a adhesive I've been working on. It's strong enough to glue Superman to soap."

Robin chuckled.

"Something to bring us together, and you give me glue… funny, Slade. Insane, but funny."

"I know you can use it,_ and_ help me develop it." the man shrugged with an almost playful grin on his face, an expression which made Robin's breath catch a little in his throat. "The second gift you might find more useful at once; it's the codes to my security-cameras across the city."  
Robin found himself gaping again.

"Really?"

"Yes. One thing we do have in common, is that we like to know what is going on… my network is, as you'll see, quite extensive. I only ask that you don't remove any cameras."

"Are there any inside the Tower?" Robin asked suspiciously.

"I wouldn't give you the codes to them if there were." Slade answered cryptically. "The instructions and everything is on there as well… So… do you accept your gift?"

"Why do I have the feeling it's a bad idea to say yes?" Robin sighed.

"Don't be so suspicious Robin… you know that if, somehow, the contract was in fact legally binding, I'd have to give up my career… and the marriage would need to be consummated as well. Do you think I'll manage to make love to you in such a sneaky way that you won't notice until it's too late? I'm stealthy, but there _are_ limits." the man snorted.

Robin laughed and shook his head.

"Alright. I accept the damn gift. Thank you."

"Good. Let's have dessert."

The tray was placed between them and the lids opened. There was a large slice of hot home baked apple pie on each plate, and a container of cool, smooth crème anglaise.

"Mmm…." Robin closed his eyes. "They taste just as Alfred's."

"I believe they _are_ his. She asked Batman for them and had them flown here."

"Wow… that's… wow." Robin had to blink rapidly a few times. Okay, so his friend had left him in the clutches of their enemy, but _man_ she was sweet!

"I wish there was more… not to sound greedy or anything…"

"There is…" Slade chuckled and unveiled another plate, holding the rest of the pie.

"Bravo, Slade… I almost loved you a little bit there… keep that up." Robin grinned and cut himself another very large slice.

"If feeding you apple-pie is all it takes…" the man purred.

"Watch it… I might decide to seduce you so you have to be a gardener for the rest of your life." Robin smirked.

"Gardener? I thought we agreed on dentist?" Slade objected.

"Didn't you hate that idea?"

"Of course, but at least then I get to work with people. I'm a people-person." Slade almost managed to make that claim looking serious.

"Sure you are. Besides, it has to be _Alfred's_ apple pie. I'm not easy."

"Yes, well, I'll talk to the old man. He likes me."

Robin almost swallowed the bite in his mouth the wrong way and spluttered a little.

"I doubt it. Sorry, but if Bruce doesn't like you, _Al_ doesn't like you." he claimed.

"Want a bet?" the man smirked at him, and the hero grew suspicious.

"No… but I'm going to call Alfred tomorrow."

"You do that. Say hi from me, and tell him his pies are still just as good."

Robin snorted, convinced that Slade was pulling his leg, but couldn't prove it.

* * *

A little while later Robin was laying back against the pillows, eyes closed and a blissful smile on his lips.

"You know, I've learned something about you tonight… apart from the fact that you have beautiful eyes." Slade said above him.

Robin looked up to find the man closer, stretched out just like he was himself, but on his side, hovering slightly above him, resembling a very handsome fairy-tale knight.

"What?" he mumbled, so blissfully stuffed with pie that he only slightly worried about the knight-parallel his mind had just made.

"You're a pig." the man smirked, and ran a finger up Robin's chin, collecting a drop of custard-sauce. The teen watched, wide-eyed, as the man brought the finger to his lips and licked the drop off.

"That's… just wrong…" he said in a weak voice.

"I'm sorry… did you want it? One moment…" Slade smirked and reached towards the still half-full container, collecting a few drops from its rim. "Here you go."

The hero had no idea what compelled him to open his mouth. Maybe it was the challenge in Slade's eye, maybe the custard had large amounts of brandy in it… but he did. He sucked the tip of the man's finger into his mouth, and ran his tongue over it. Slade's eye widened, and then the pupil dilated in a way which made Robin's heart beat a little faster. He let the finger go and pressed himself a bit deeper back into the pillows.

"I think I better go buy myself some gardening-tools…" the man above him purred, and then the weight of Slade's body was pinning him down, the man's lips on his, demanding submission.

* * *

Robin had never before considered pillows an enemy, but now he did as he couldn't move with them surrounding him. He finally got an arm loose, but by then he was squirming and panting from more positive feelings.

"Slade…" he gasped as the man moved slightly and kissed his neck instead.

"Shhh…" the man's breath tickled Robin's skin. "Don't say a word… especially not 'no'."

"W-why?" Robin stuttered and then his voice gained just a smidge more energy. "Like… like you care!"

"I'm not going to force you-" Slade started, and Robin fought to sit up.

"Well, in that ca-"

The man's hand suddenly covered his mouth, and the smirk Slade wore as he looked down on him was bordering on evil.

"I just ask that you shut up until you say what _I want to hear_…" he grinned and pushed Robin's shirt up. The man was quick, and as the hand over the teen's mouth disappeared, the shirt was pulled over his head, but no further, temporarily trapping Robin's arms above his head. The hand was then back, before Robin had found the presence of mind to object, and Slade's lips started playing over the teen's chest.

Something cold touched Robin's nipples and he hissed, opening his eyes, which he wasn't even aware that he had closed, to see Slade dribbling crème anglaise onto his chest.

"MMmfff!" Robin cried out as the small puddles were licked up, and the procedure repeated until the man reached the hem of his pants. The man traced the edge of his navel with his tongue, looked up at him, arched an eyebrow and then pulled his hand away from the teen's mouth.

Robin drew some deep breaths while he was being watched, an obvious question in the man's eye. Slade's fingers were tracing his skin, one hand sliding down his hips, squeezing it, still above his tights.

"You… you'll be a school janitor for the rest of your life." Robin threatened, settling for another horrible career.

"It's worth it." the man purred and bent down, nuzzling the embarrassingly tented part of Robin's trousers, licking at the wet patch on the top. The hero's head fell back against the pillows and he groaned. He had only _dreamed_ of something like this, and the real thing felt even better. He had no idea how he could refuse, but if he agreed to _this_, then…

"You son of a bitch…" the teen growled. "This is extortion…"

"Of course not. You would easily been able to say no… but you don't want to, do you? I think someone has a little crush on me."

"Who? Your mother?" Robin snorted. "Me being hard has _nothing_ to do with-"

"Oh, but it does. You wouldn't let just _anyone_ do this to you, would you? How about Johnny Rancid? Killer Moth? Beast Boy? Starfire? Oh, I'm sorry… I didn't mean to make you soften, but I think I made my point… let me help you with that." the man generously offered.

Robin gasped as the smug bastard pulled the tights down and engulfed his length.

* * *

Things turned a little fuzzy around the edges for a while after that. To Robin it seemed like only a second ago that he had closed his eyes, but when he opened them again, they were both completely naked. They were entwined together, Slade's thigh between his legs, and Robin found himself practically humping it. He couldn't remember if he had come, he _though_t he had, but nonetheless he was just as hard now as before.

They were kissing again and Robin felt somewhat detached from reality. He _felt _like he should be thinking about the fact that he had been set up, that Slade was the enemy and that this was a very, very bad thing for them to be doing. Instead he couldn't help but consider this his best surprise ever, that Slade was hot as hell, and that all this was very, very good. There was also a not-so-little sense of curiosity, fuelled by the not-so-little sense of something poking the side of his stomach. Robin let the man's neck go to check the thing out.

Slade tensed as Robin carefully encircled the man's cock with his hand.

"Lay back, I wanna see…" Robin ordered and pushed gently on the man's shoulder. To his amazement Slade rolled over at once. "I didn't know all I needed to do to get you to listen was hold your cock…" the teen grinned.

"You found my weakness…" the man admitted with a chuckle. "Now… are you going to do more than look?"

"I don't know. Haven't decided yet." Robin admitted, busy with studying the very hard and slightly weeping length.

"And if I beg?" the man groaned, as Robin's fingers flexed slightly, checking the girth and the sturdiness.

"I like the idea…" the teen grinned, and not it was his turn to try out the almost evil smirk.

"Fine… I want you to stroke me, and then I want those pretty lips around my cock, sucking me in as far as you can." Slade said.

"That wasn't begging, that was _ordering_." Robin snorted, letting the length go.

"I'm out of practice. I forgot the 'please' at the end there, didn't I?" Slade muttered. "Very well. Please?" he added hurriedly.

"Finally found something you are bad at." Robin chuckled. "A pity that I don't know how to use it… but, fine… as you did _try_…" He grasped the length again and moved his hand up and down the shaft, experimenting a bit as he did so. He was curious about what it would be like to use his mouth as well, so, very slowly, he leaned down. The cock twitched just moments before Robins lip's touched it, and the teen glanced up with a teasing smirk on his face.

"Eager? I wonder if I could get you to agree to bottom?"

"That would take one hell of a blow-job." the man snorted. "But if you practice every day for say… ten years or so, you might be getting closer."

"Do I have to practice on _you_?" Robin asked innocently.

"Yes. No cheating on your husb-" Slade didn't manage to finish the sentence before Robin's tongue came out and licked the tip of his cock. After that the man seemed to find it rather difficult to form a sentence, to the teen's great delight.

* * *

Robin explored the whole length with his tongue, while his hands carefully massaged the man's balls. He couldn't fit too much of it in his mouth, but according to the muffled grunts coming from Slade, it seemed to be enough. He wondered what it would feel like inside him, if it even could_ get_ inside. The head was more pointed than blunt, which would help, Robin thought, but he didn't think the whole length would fit. No matter, though, he would love to try.

"I want to try and ride you…" he admitted; his voice thick with desire. "But I… well… I would need some…?"

Slade reached out for a small box and withdrew a jar.

"Lubricant?" he suggested.

"Yeah." The teen blushed, taking it from the man's hand. "Errr… and Slade… if we do this, it won't really mean that…?"

"As you said, it wouldn't hold up in any court."

"Okay. Good. Because the idea is insane." Robin chuckled, only getting a smirk back from Slade. The teen managed to get the lid off the jar and then watched the man enjoy getting his cock thoroughly drenched in the slick substance.

Robin wiped the residue around his own tight entrance, and then pushed two fingers inside, stretching himself.

"I'm afraid I might come from this sight alone…" Slade purred.

"That would be… disappointing…" Robin gasped as he pushed a third finger in. After a few moments he wanted to ride something bigger than his own fingers, though, and got himself into position. He made sure the tip of Slade's cock brushed his opening before he pushed down slightly. Taking a deep breath he relaxed and let gravity to most of the work.

* * *

Robin wasn't quite prepared as the head suddenly breached him and he sank down much faster than he had anticipated. Before he was able to brace himself he was sitting completely on the man's groin. He looked down, eyes very wide.

"I'm… it's… it's all inside me…" he gasped, wriggling slightly on the pole impaling him. It didn't hurt, but he couldn't help but wonder if this was how a ventriloquist's doll felt.

"Don't… move." Slade suddenly whispered.

Robin's surprised gaze shifted to the man's face and then turned into a smug little grin.

"That close, are you, big guy?"

"Yes." the man, surprisingly freely, admitted. Robin's smile softened a little.

"Me too." he confessed. "It's just… wow… can I take this home with me?" the teen asked.

The man chuckled.

"Not without me attached to it, you evil little creature."

"Aw. Damn." Robin grinned. "Are… are you ready for me to move? I _really_ want to move…"

"Go ahead… but don't blame me if it's a short ride." Slade growled.

Robin laughed softly, but the sound turned into a loud moan as he raised himself up a little, before sinking down again. The way the cock filled him was one thing, but the way it _moved _inside him, rubbing and stretching, surpassed that feeling by light years. He did it again, his thighs already shaking, and the sensation was repeated, almost stronger than before.

Soon he was riding the man in earnest, finding and perfecting the technique which felt the best, very quickly. It was good that he was a fast learner, because it turned out that he wouldn't have much time to practice… Within a few minutes, he was already coming, and he very narrowly missed Slade's eye. The man didn't notice, or didn't care, because he himself had only held on by sheer willpower, and filled Robin up with his seed at almost the same moment.

* * *

Robin awoke the next morning with two primary feelings; happiness, which was surprising, and soreness which wasn't surprising at all. He didn't know where the happiness came from, and as he slowly stretched, he thought it might just be side-effect of being _very_ satisfied. The soreness surely was. They had tried two more positions last night, and Robin couldn't decide which one he liked more. It would take a few more tries, he thought, grinning softly.

"I'd very much like to know what you were thinking about just then…" Slade purred beside him.

Robin blinked and, reluctantly, the reality set in. There wouldn't _be_ any more tries, at least not with Slade. The madness of last night was over.

"I'm just thinking that this island is like Vegas… what happens here, stays here." Robin muttered, wondering where his clothes were.

"No, you weren't… that thought was much too depressing to earn that smirk." Slade chuckled. "Breakfast?"

"Is there any? I'm starving." The teen admitted.

"Of course." the man had already prepared a tray of sandwiches and juice. "And this." he added and handed another small, black box to Robin.

The teen looked at it suspiciously.

"Is this another memory-card?" he asked. "And why?"

"Open it. And it's your morning-gift."

At this Robin blushed deeply and gave the man a glare. Since Slade seemed immune to such a treatment, however, Robin gave up and opened the box. He stared at the contents.

"It's… it's a… ring?"

"Of course. You thought you would get away without wearing one? Unthinkable." Slade grinned, and the next moment he had slid the thing onto Robin's finger. The teen still stared at it. It was plain gold, but a modern design; round on the inside, while the outer sides formed a square. It fit perfectly, and didn't feel like it would get in the way at all.

"It was made especially for you. It has a tracking device, a hidden alarm which you activate by pressing the corners like this," Slade demonstrated, "and, if you do this…" the man said, twisting a hidden switch, "a small blade appears. It can even cut through glass, and is handy if someone is ever stupid enough to tie you up in anything less than metal."

Robin's eyes were glued to the thing and delicate-looking blade, which was, of course, only as long as the ring was wide. He had no idea how to react.

"I… errr… thank you." he managed after a while, as Alfred's voice in his head told him to always be polite when receiving gifts. So he wouldn't be expected to say anything else, Robin stuffed a sandwich in his mouth, while he tried to watch Slade from the corner of his eye. The man seemed very content, but, then again, he had _also_ gotten laid three times last night, so why wouldn't he be?

* * *

They were both mostly quiet for a while, Slade only breaking the silence to offer Robin more orange-juice.

Finally Robin found something rather safe to ask.

"So… when are they coming to pick us up?"

"At ten, so no need to rush." Slade said. "It's only eight in the morning. Do you want to go for a swim?"

"This early in the morning and in December?" Robin snorted.

"Is my little husband cold?" the man beside him leered.

"Stop it. And I'll have you know I can swim in the bloody _arctic_!" Robin snorted, before biting his own tongue. Why couldn't he just shut up when he was clearly being baited?

"Well then…" Slade said and stood up. "Let's go."

"Put some pants on." Robin blushed and quickly looked away. A long as they both had been sitting down among the pillows and blankets it hadn't been so obvious that they were naked.

"_Before_ going swimming? Interesting idea. I'll pass. Come on." The man grabbed his arm and Robin more or less went flying out of the tent.

"Hey! What if someone sees us!" the teen hissed, looking around furiously.

"You better get in the water quickly then, sweetie." Slade grinned, his eye roaming the hero's body. "Or maybe we should just go inside the tent again…?"

Robin ignored him and decided that a swim might not be so bad, considering. He hurried into the water, clenching his teeth against the cold. Jump City might me located in a warm climate, but the winter storms brought colder water currents, the air was colder and, really, Robin liked his baths hot.

The temperature didn't seem to worry Slade, and Robin just had time to dip himself before the man did, because he just couldn't stand the thought of not winning that little unspoken contest. Slade continued swimming, however, while Robin shot up at once, rubbing his arms in the waist-high water. It took a few deep breaths for him to try swimming himself.

* * *

Not that much later they were both back in the tent, Robin with a thick blanket around him, sitting as close to the heater as he dared, while Slade was rubbing him dry. Robin's teeth were clattering so much he couldn't really object to the treatment. Besides, it felt really good.

"There…" Slade said with a low chuckle as he switched to a new, dry, blanket. "Feeling better?"

Robin nodded, and the man dried himself off before joining the teen under his blanket, pushing him down onto his back.

"Hey, stop!" Robin growled, finding his voice again.

"I'm just warming you up…" the man grinned innocently, pressing their bodies together.

The teen wondered how the man's skin could feel so hot already, and wondered if it would be worth acting naïve, pretending that warming him up was the only thing on the man's agenda. The kiss on his neck quite shattered that illusion, however.

"They will come for us soon!" Robin tried to reason with the man, pushing at his chest.

"One and a half hours isn't 'soon'." Slade claimed. "I'll have_ you_ coming several times before that."

And, despite Robin's initial objections, Slade did.

* * *

It wasn't the Titans picking them up, it was a taxi-boat, something Robin was quite happy about. He'd rather his friends wouldn't see the place of the 'crime', so to speak. He was dressed in his uniform once more, and Slade in his tuxedo-trousers and shirt, leaving the rest, including his mask, off. They didn't bring anything with them, apart from a small bag Slade had, which held his clothes. Everything else would be dealt with later by a hired crew, the man explained.

The boat headed directly for Titan's Island, and Robin was a bit surprised when Slade got out as well.

"Aren't you going into the city?" the teen asked, looking around worriedly. So far they were alone on the beach.

"I live here now, remember, little husband?" Slade grinned.

Robin rolled his eyes behind his mask and snorted.

"Stop playing games, Slade. You said yourself that it wouldn't hold up in court. We're not married."

"I don't care about what a court would say… I made a promise my signing that contract, and I _always_ keep my promises. Ah… and here's my new extended family." the man said and smiled towards the Tower, where the Titans had just emerged in something close to an explosion. Robin could hear the questions yelled at him even now, and stared between Slade and his team.

"But… but… no… no, we… you can't… I…"

"Robin, my dear…" Slade said and handed him a piece of paper from his bag. "Maybe _now _would be a good time to actually _read _the contract?"

Robin took the paper, looked down at it, unable to make much out of the dancing letters, looked up at his friends who were almost upon them, and then at Slade.

"Slade?" he said meekly.

"Yes, love?"

"I don't do this often… at all really… but I think… I think this would be a good time to faint."

And so he did.

* * *

Slade caught the young man easily and straightened up with him in his arms. The man thought it was just a _bit _cowardly of the hero to leave him to deal with the other Titans on his own, but he could manage… judging by the happy look on Starfire's face, he would have _some _backup at least.

"Looks like I need to look for a job too…" the man muttered to his unconscious spouse. "You better be worth it, my boy…"

Looking down on the pale face, the still kiss-swollen lips slightly parted, the former mercenary smiled. He was pretty sure that Robin would be.

_The End_

* * *

A/N: -chuckle- I've just finished editing this story (so please ignore the mistakes I left) and I must say it makes me grin… it's a silly grin, but it's there… it's almost two genres/stories in one: first a crack-one with the set-up, and then a fluffy-one with the rest of the story… I hoped some of you will love it and the rest of you will at least find some parts to like… ;)


	18. 18 Two of a Kind

Saturday 18 December

Merry Christmas **The Darkest Half!**

D/2 usually wants something darker and that is true this time as well… I thought about going totally overboard, but didn't. Instead it's a bit of angst, hurt/comfort (in a way) and with a not-so-terrible ending… ;)

Paring: Sladin

Universe: freestanding

Warnings: Darkish, but if you are reading my stuff, and you obviously are, you'll be able to handle it… it _is_ on the murky side, though. This has a similar back-story as "Cop Killer" (Slade has been away since after Trigon), but the story is completely different.**

* * *

**

Two of a Kind

"Messy, Robin." Slade said and looked around the blood-splattered room.

"Did I ask for your opinion? Leave, Slade." the teen in the middle of it all growled. He was watching the carnage, but there was very little emotion in those eyes, except for a burning anger.

"Seems I can't leave you alone without you getting into some kind of mischief." the mercenary said flatly, getting a snort in reply.

Slade had left Jump after the war with Trigon. It had been a purely egotistical decision as he needed to regain his strength and, maybe more importantly, sense of self. He had lived, if you could call it that, so long as a marionette corpse, fighting for his own survival first, and the world's second. When it was over, he couldn't stay. He had abandoned Robin, although the teen probably didn't think of it like that. Slade did, however. Especially now. Especially since not all of the Titans had survived.

Trigon's evil Titan clones had been the end of both Beast Boy and Starfire. Raven, already frail after her stay in the demon's realm, had then been forced to meet her own father in battle. Her mind had never recovered and she was now being looked after at a private clinic. Cyborg had, more or less, shut down, becoming more machine than human, leaving Robin alone to face the criminals of Jump City.

Slade had read all the police reports since coming back and finding his bird in this state. He had even hacked into the Titan's mainframe to cross-check details, and, for a few months, Robin seemed to have been in control. It was clear to Slade that the young man had decided that if Batman could protect a city by himself, so could he. It was a mistake, based on pride, and perhaps some arrogance, on Robin's part, and he would pay dearly.

The uprising began two months after the double edged victory. The evil of Jump had started to realize that there were no Titans anymore and that, for the first time, they had a chance to take over. So they tried. Robin pushed back, with everything he had, but somehow, at some point, he snapped.

Slade knew the exact date, and almost the exact time it had happened. He had found it in the last report posted from Titan's Tower. It had simply said; '_I killed him instead'_.

Slade understood the 'instead'. Robin's frustrations over jailbreaks and a paralyzed and corrupt justice system had become more and more obvious. Batman had Commissioner Gordon and a somewhat decent police force behind him. Robin had no one.

* * *

"You are coming with me now, Robin." Slade told the teen, almost softly.

"No."

"This had gotten a bit out of hand, don't you think?"

"It's the right thing to do. The only thing." Robin said, shaking his head.

"I understand. Now come." to Slade's surprise, Robin actually turned around, and, as the man started to leave the room, he followed.

"I need you." the teen said quietly. "You're the expert. You need to teach me… there's too many of them. I need to kill them all."

* * *

Slade didn't answer; he just took the hero's arm and guided him out of the room, out of the building. The man had his motorcycle handy and got Robin to straddle it. The teen was listless, disinterested, even as they reached the mercenary's base. Robin didn't even bother to try and sneak a peek at the security code or seemed in the least bit worried about walking into the lion's den. When Slade took of his mask, he got no more than a glance.

"I know what you have been doing, Robin… all those people you've killed."

"No people, just criminals." the teen muttered.

"They are people too." Slade said, feeling slightly out of sorts as a human rights activist.

"Not to me." the teen shrugged. "Can you get me a machine gun? Maybe some explosives? I need ammo too."

"No."

"_No_?" For the first time Robin turned to face Slade for real, meeting the man's blue-grey eye.

"Why? I'm a killer now, just like_ you_. Aren't you _proud_ of me?" The question was almost spat out, but the man heard the small hint of insecurity mixed into the resentment.

"We are nothing alike." Slade answered. "Not anymore. But I'll change that."

* * *

It was hours later. Slade had locked them in a bare room, trying to get through to the teen without breaking him beyond repair.

"I don't need your fucking advice!" Robin yelled at him, attacking once again. The teen's fighting style had become more dangerous, more unpredictable, but Slade could still handle him, even if he had his meta-human skills to thank many times. A faster reaction ability really helped while fighting the young killer. Mostly the man stood still, however, letting Robin come to him, attacking him physically and verbally, in the hope that it would wear him down.

"You will get it, and take it, whether you want to or not." Slade smirked. He was alone to appreciate the innuendo, however, because Robin couldn't be reached by subtleness at the moment. "You will learn the codes of the assassins, to honor life and therefore your victims. You will no longer stab people in the back, Robin, no more slaughter. There's a form of finesse to the trade and you will keep that in mind. You will regain your sanity and learn to make better choices." Slade had repeated the same thing to Robin over and over again.

"_I_ don't make any choices! _They_ do! _They_ choose to be criminals! It's_ their_ fault! I kill them, but it's _their fault_!" Robin yelled, not following up with an attack for once. The teen's tattered uniform was soaked in sweat by now, and Slade could see the first trembling signs of fatigue.

"You kill everyone, Robin. Murderers, rapists, kidnappers, gang-members, sex offenders, robbers, drunk drivers, sweat-shop runners… what will earn a death sentence next? A parking ticket?"

"I'm keeping the city clean!"

"By washing it in blood?"

"If that's what it takes!"

"You have_ always_ been a killer, Robin. I saw that from the first time we met. You loved fighting too much, you always wanted to improve, and, somewhere, deep inside, you didn't want to simply _subdue _your opponent. It was never enough. You wanted to take that last step, and now you have. But you need to _control_ it, Robin. You are sloppy, both in thought and action. Sooner or later they will take you down. Shoot you like a rabid stray on the street. And you're not a dog, Robin, you are so much better than that. Let me help you."

"Fuck your help!" the teen screamed, and now he attacked as well. "Fuck your code! Fuck your morals! Fuck _you_!"

"If that's what it takes." the man's eye narrowed as he blocked a kick. He then moved, attacking for the first time, catching Robin off guard. The teen recovered amazingly quickly, however, and used his agility to get out of harm's way.

The fight continued. Slade didn't want to hurt the teen more than he had to, but, again, Robin seemed a bit out of it to be able to take a hint. In the end Slade made a feint kick, which forced Robin flip out of the way, but when the teen landed his ankles were swiped out from under him.

Slade followed up with another kick, this one to the stomach, just hard enough to make the little killer stay down so the man could straddle him. Slade rolled Robin over on his stomach and sat down on the boy's ass. There was no way for him to move enough to get a kick or a punch in like this.

"Get off me!" Robin snarled.

"No." Slade said and removed his own belt. He already had his armor off, as they had been at this for quite some time and he preferred to be comfortable to protected, at least at his own base. He threw the belt to the side, and saw Robin's eyes widen.

"What are you doing?" the teen asked.

"I can't get through to you… I've tried reasoning, I've tried fighting you, I even tried _hugging_ you as we first started… anything to reach you, but all of these things, it seems, other people have tried as well, haven't they? Well, they might not have known the amount of damage you have done, or they wouldn't have given up, but you have built up your walls too thickly by now. I'm trying something new. I'm going to fuck you."

Slade looked down at Robin who had become very still. The teen had definitely reacted, but not, it seemed, to what Slade had _expected_ him to react to. The mercenary had anticipated Robin being shocked and angry at the prospect of rape, and, once he were, that was a sign that there was still something the teen cared about, something he wanted to protect… but Robin didn't seen shocked.

"They did, you know…" he started.

"They did what?" Slade asked. Had the boy already been raped? Not impossible, maybe that was the final straw maybe that was what the man he had first killed had done or tried to do. Robin didn't target just sex-offenders, however, something Slade thought he would probably do in that case.

"They… gave up." Robin whispered.

As the teen was almost lethargic he moved off the boy and rolled him on his back instead, so he could meet his eyes.

"Tell me." Slade said softly.

"First… first Raven and Cyborg… they didn't want to do it anymore, they didn't want to see… feel… it was so easy for them… I… I called Batman once… he… he came over… looked around… read my reports… said it seemed I had everything under control… said he was proud of me… I tried to talk, but…" Robin looked away. He had never quite met Slade's gaze, but now he turned his whole head to the side.

"What happened?"

"Well… he basically told me 'shit happens' and patted me on the head…" the teen snorted and started to sit up. "Maybe you _should_ rape me… or kill me…"

"You don't want any of that." Slade said firmly.

"Who does?" Robin scoffed and glanced at the man. "You left too, you know."

"I know. If I had known what would happen, I would have taken you with me."

"You would?"

"Yes."

"There's a technical and medical team tending to Cy." Robin said out of the blue.

"That's good." Slade nodded.

"I think… I think I want to leave." Robin admitted.

"We'll go tonight." Slade said. "And I won't give up on you, Robin."

"Even if I'm nothing like you?"

"Even then."

* * *

Two years later they were sharing a dingy hotel room in the seedier parts of Mombasa. They were there to kill an American drug dealer who was trying to pass himself off as a business tycoon, in Kenya on vacation. They had taken care of the man that morning and would leave tomorrow. Slade had never let Robin stop the killing, because, he figured, it wasn't the instinct, or even the urge that there was something wrong with, it was the way it used to happen. Especially a lack of clients and payment.

The man didn't expect Robin to ever truly recover, but he had made progress. Slade worked with trying to get the teen to accept the idea that he hadn't done anything wrong as such, the men and women he had killed had been criminals after all, but the way he had behaved had been unacceptable. Robin lapped up the absolution, and, as the behavior could be corrected with training, he jumped at every opportunity to do so. Step by step they had become the perfect partners of death.

* * *

Slade, who was just about to fall asleep in one of the single beds, then heard the soft patter of naked feet against the floor. The next moment his blanket was lifted and Robin squeezed in beside him. The man grunted and made room by pressing himself closer to the wall.

"What is it? Bad dream?" Slade asked. The teen came to him sometimes when he needed to make sure the man was still there.

"No… a good one…" Robin whispered in the darkness and pressed even closer.

"Oh,_ that_ good, huh?" Slade chuckled. He was a bit startled, as they never had been intimate, although they sometimes did like to pass their time by exchanging exceedingly raunchier innuendoes. Their work included hours of surveillance, after all, and they needed to do _something_ while still keeping an eye on their target. They could hardly play cards.

"I dreamed about that time… you know… when you said you'd rape me…"

"I never intended to go through with that. I just needed to shock you enough to get a reaction." Slade told the teen, helping him to move into his arms a bit more comfortably. Slade was wearing his boxers, and, by the feel of Robin, the teen was wearing nothing at all.

"Yeah, I know, but I dreamed that you did… and I liked it." Robin purred.

"You wouldn't have-"

"Yes, yes, I know, it was a _dream_!" Robin snorted. "Okay, so I'm out of ideas." he then sighed. "I crawl into your bed naked, aroused and then tell you that I just had a wet dream about you… what do I need to _do_ for you to get the hint?"

"I'm very stupid. You might have to kiss me." Slade chuckled. Immediately soft, wet lips where on his, moving hesitantly while the tip of a tongue asked for entrance. The man permitted it, meeting Robin's tongue with his own. "Are you sure that this is what you want?" Slade asked as they parted.

"You are right, you really _are_ stupid." Robin sighed. "Poor stupid man. I'm going to take so much advantage of you."

"Well… I'm stupid enough not to mind." Slade chuckled.

"I like the sound of that." Robin admitted with a playful growl. "I'm going to start by touching you inappropriately."

There wasn't much room, but Robin still managed to slide a hand between their bodies and downwards. As he reached the lining of the boxers, the hand burrowed in under them and finally found what it was looking at.

"Mmm… were you having a nice dream too?" Robin snickered.

"No, I'm having an awake one right now…" Slade smiled. Any worry about taking this step with the young man had by now been replaced with his own needs, because, when it came down to it, Slade could be a selfish man.

"Good… keep it up…" Robin again snickered and then disappeared under the cover. Slade felt his underwear being pulled down and then a hot, wet mouth engulfed the tip of his cock. There was a bit of experimenting, but it was all good, making the man grunt and his hips trying to thrust up, deeper into the heat.

"I had no idea you had this talent…" Slade murmured.

"Me either…" Robin said smugly. "I wonder what else I'm good at? Do you think my ass will be really tight? Oh, do you think I'm a screamer?"

"The walls are paper thin and the staff here thinks we are father and son…" Slade reminded him.

"Oh, then I'm _definitely _a screamer…" Robin chuckled.

"And you're a little pervert too… you are full of surprises tonight…" Slade purred.

"I'd rather be full of _you_." Robin let him know. "I think I'm good at riding too, so I'll do that."

"Not without lube." Slade warned him.

"Luckily I came to bed bearing gifts." the teen told him and the man heard the faint snap of a cap lid opening. "Hang on a minute and I'll have it covered… heh… get it?"

"An idiot would get it." Slade snorted.

"Good, so you do, then?" Robin said, very pleased with himself.

Before long, he didn't sound quite that pleased however.

"It's… uuuungh… it's so big!" he grunted.

"Don't blame me, I offered to prepare you." Slade chuckled and slapped Robin's backside playfully as the teen was straddling him, the head of the man's cock pressing against his entrance. "Get on with it, or I'll go back to sleep."

Robin, being used to Slade's rough way of speaking, only laughed, which helped him relax enough.

"Oh!"

'Oh' is right…" Slade grinned as the teen started sinking down onto his shaft. "I think we've proven the tightness hypotheses."

"Mhmm…" Robin just moaned. "Oh… Slade… oh… God, this feels… so… fucking… amazing!" The teen raised himself up a little bit and sank down again, throwing his head back as he did so. "AH! YES!"

"And you're a screamer too…" Slade grinned, letting his hands caress the man's stomach and chest as Robin started to work up a rhythm. As his hand closed around the young man's own shaft, it was batted away, however.

"Too… much… gonna… cum… any… way…" Robin gasped with each movement. And a few minutes later he did. At that time, Slade flipped them over and continued to fuck his young partner until he reached his own climax. By that time Robin was almost ready to go again.

* * *

Slade woke up very late the next morning with Robin sprawled on top of him. As he moved a bit to get the feeling back in his right arm, Robin woke up.

"Mm… morning." the teen said.

"Morning."

"Thanks for last night."

"Thank _you_." Slade chuckled. "What made you decide to do that, though?"

"Well… I kinda figured that you're really not gonna leave me…" Robin grinned a bit goofily.

"Now? After two years?"

"Well… I guess I'm kind of an idiot too…" the teen smiled.

"Yup…" Slade smirked. "We're exactly alike."

_The End_

* * *

A/N: I thought of making this non-con, but… well… it felt so EXPECTED… I hope the bit of darkness was enough…

The prompt for this was 'advice', a rather ominous prompt which could have led to a million different plot-bunny-babies, but again, I wanted the advice to be somewhat unexpected… Robin turning killer, of course, is not that original… I guess I could have made him turn into a celebrity chef, but… you know… where's the angst in that? ;)


	19. 19 I Do

**EDIT: July 25, 2011**: as I'm about to write a sequel to this (which will appear in "Delightful Drabbles" when it's done) I reread it so I would remember the details. I shouldn't have done that. I found SOOO many idiotic typos, so I just had to edit those out. There are still many left, I fear, but at least there are a FEW fewer now…

* * *

Sunday 19 December

Merry Christmas **SHOW ME THE LURV**! (-lol- can't help but really 'luv' that pen-name…)

I'll tell you the actual prompt-words at the bottom, but I feel the need to share the request that went with it, not only because it's funny, but as a warning to sensitive readers… so this is what the wish said:

"I'm in the mood for some grade-A fluff! This pairing needs more love, and I don't just mean getting followers. I've had it with all the mind games and denial. I want good ol' fashioned L-O-V-E! So if you could just fluff 'em up the wazoo, I'd be the happiest person alive!"

Well. You have been warned, because I've tried my best to "fluff 'em up the wazoo" (whatever the hell that means). So no real evilness, although I hope some light teasing is okay… and maybe even a_ little_ bit of denial in the beginning… But if Slade can't mess with Robin, and Robin can't mess with Slade… well… there are always others that can mess with them… -grin-

This might remind you of another of the x-mas story, if only in theme, but these stories, I feel, ARE for exploring the slightly crazy, and since I have free hands with pouring on the fluff… -evil, slightly insane laughter- -cough- Well… let's get on with it… hmmm… I wonder how many of you already stopped reading..? For those brave few left: I have a very big soft spot for this story, and if you dare read it, I hope you will too… ;)

* * *

**I Do**

"I don't care what you say, Robin; tomorrow you'll marry Slade!"

The teen hero gaped. Those were words he never thought he'd hear, and least of all from Jump City's mayor.

"But-"

"We've been discussing this for a week, and I won't budge. It's an amazing publicity opportunity for Jump and you have always supported gay rights."

"But-"

"It's time to set the budget for next year, would you like the Titan's resources to be cut?"

"You can't-"

"Yes we can. This wedding will bring in a lot of funds, Robin, trust me. Now. Discussion over. Not even Slade put up this much of a fight… not that he can, really…" the politician smirked.

* * *

Robin sat back in his chair and just stared at the vile man. How could two good things have merged into this amazingly over-the-top catastrophically_ bad_ thing?

It had all started about a year and a half ago, when Slade had suddenly, and out of nowhere, decided to strike a deal with the government. Robin didn't know all of the details, but in order to clean his slate the man had offered his services, both as a bounty hunter and a witness, making the suits drool at the prospects of the information they now had at their fingertips. He had been made to pay a hefty fine and spend a year in a low-security prison going through several psychological evaluations. Slade would have been able to more or less walk out of the building at any time, but hadn't. Instead he had been noted for excellent behavior, not even getting so much as a warning.

After that he had, to the teen's surprise, returned to Jump and started working with placing his remaining funds into projects and charity-work, and he was now one of the city's better known profiles.

They hadn't met, however, more than briefly, and that had been last month. Robin, who had been openly gay for two years, was involved in a political movement for making gay marriage legal in Jump, and now it had finally paid off. Slade had unexpectedly also shown up to show his support and make a donation, and a brave reported had claimed that the man had said that Slade himself wouldn't mind getting married if he found the right man.

Tomorrow the new law would be implemented, and a week ago, on the teen's eighteenth birthday, the mayor had approached Robin with the plan for the publicity-stunt of the ages.

* * *

"Now, then, Robin, the wedding is at eleven AM, report to this address at nine. The Titans are, of course, to be guests. Their usual uniforms will do," the man said and handed the teen a card. "Now, don't look so gloomy, my boy! A wedding, a honeymoon, and then we'll annul the whole thing when you come back. Everyone knows you are just doing this to show your support for the law… very commendable, I think."

"Honeymoon! You never said anything about a honeymoon!" Robin objected.

"Seven days in a luxury hotel on Aruba, all expenses paid. You can't say no. Literally," The man smiled at him again, and Robin couldn't help but think of a pimp. Maybe it was the gold tooth. How the hell had a man like this became mayor anyway?

"I need to talk to Slade about this. You have his number, I presume?" Robin asked between his clenched teeth.

"No-no-no, no seeing your husband before the wedding…" the man grinned even wider. "You'll have plenty of time to talk afterwards."

As Robin left the office he slammed the door so hard that the glass in it broke, but, then again, so it had every day for the last week. He was surprised they bothered replacing it.

* * *

The next day found Robin dressed in a white tuxedo and his usual mask, nervous as hell. The whole thing was insane. He had been pampered and styled all morning and had to draw on all of his strength not to lash out at anyone.

"You need to look happy, Robin, remember, it's your wedding-day," the voice Robin hated most in the world said behind him. He turned to glare at the mayor in the doorway.

"What are _you_ doing here?"

"I'm going to walk you down the aisle of course… now, it's almost time. Smile."

Robin tried not to think about the fact that _he_ was being walked down the aisle. He would prefer it if he and Slade had done so together, but who cared about what _he _preferred? He hadn't been consulted on _anything_.

* * *

The wedding was taking place in the city park, the guests were seated in a very large folding-fan-pattern, with the aisle cutting through the middle. There must have been three- or four hundred guests, and behind a temporary fence it looked like most of the city had turned up for the party. Robin saw large-screen TV:s broadcasting his own face, and tried not to wince. Everything was either white or light blue, and there seemed to be flowers everywhere. If Robin was in a better mood he might have found it beautiful, but he was not. At least it was a civil wedding, out of necessity, of course, but Robin was grateful. He didn't do the whole religious-thing very well. Not that he did the groom-thing very well either.

* * *

As he saw Slade, dressed in white as he was and looking very handsome, or rather drop-dead-gorgeously sexy, he realized that the mayor had taken the former mercenary's place at his list of top-ten-people to hurt. Then Robin realized that it's been a while since the man had made the list. He had been dropping down it since even before he gave himself up… that stunt itself had annoyed Robin, however. Not because it wasn't an amiable thing to do, but because it had been so unexpected. He had no idea why Slade had done it, and that made him nervous.

There was also the fact that the man had gotten away rather easily. The year he had spent in prison had been rather... boring, though. Robin had had to stop himself several times from going to visit the man. That would have been too awkward, however, since he hadn't been able to come up with a good enough reason to. He was also convinced that even though the man had seemingly turned his back on a life of crime, he was an evil, controlling bastard at the core, and the hero was surprised that none of the tests had shown this simple fact… it was obvious the man was a manipulative mastermind, because what other reason could there be that Robin could never stop thinking about him?

* * *

The Titan walked beside the mayor, back straight, the smile fake but the blush real. He spotted his friends in the sea of standing people, but even though they had been concerned, they seemed to view this as mainly a joke. Robin couldn't quite see the funny part, though.

As they reached the altar, Slade nodded at the mayor as the man really handed him over, making Robin's eyes sparkle dangerously. The music, coming from a live orchestra, started to die down as the people settled back into their chairs. Slade took the opportunity to bend forwards a little to whisper in the teen's ear.

"Don't kill me. Had nothing to do with it."

The words made Robin crack a smile. The whole thing was absurd, so maybe he just _should _laugh at it?

"You better not have," he murmured back, as the judge which had been appointed to marry them cleared his throat.

* * *

A long speech about equal rights, unity and love followed. Robin couldn't disagree with the words themselves, but he found himself zoning out, partly because he had, when the Mayor had handed him over, ended up holding Slade's hand. It wasn't uncomfortable, per se, but very distracting.

Robin glanced around, noticing a few men standing off to the side. He recognized two of Jump's most famous athletes and realized that these must be their best men… having a best man you had never spoken to was just another thing on the absurdity-list.

Thankfully they weren't made to write their own vows, instead the judge did the work for them, and they only had to answer 'I do' at the end, something even Robin could manage in his airy state of mind. When he said the words, he felt Slade squeeze his had slightly, and he squeezed back automatically. He didn't know why the man had did it, maybe to show support, to tease him, or even show his displeasure, but it _felt_ positive. He offered the man a small smile, and got one back. Slade was even wearing a white eye-patch, Robin realized and that made his smile widen, just in time for Slade's promise. Realizing this, Robin blushed again, and thought he heard whispers of 'awww' from the audience. He wondered if they were idiots, since they ought to know that this was all an act.

The rings were then exchanged, since someone had decided that there should be two. They were plain gold ones, but very nice. Robin had a feeling they, and probably everything else from the wedding, would end up at an auction after this was over. It made him feel strangely sad. He hoped most of the money would go to a charity and not into the mayor's pockets.

"You may kiss."

The words shouldn't be unexpected. Robin should even be grateful that the sentence wasn't followed by 'the bride' or something just as inane. Despite this the teen's eyes widened, and he looked up at Slade almost desperately, begging for help. The man, however, just smiled reassuringly and cupped his cheek. The 'awww' this time was not imaginary; it almost exploded from the large crowd. Robin had closed his eyes during the kiss which was not a peck by any means, but not unnecessarily long or tongue-y either. There was a_ little_ tongue though. Robin didn't mind.

As they left, Robin a bit dazed, they were showered by a cloud of soap bubbles instead of rice or confetti. Maybe someone thought they were being 'fun' and 'innovating'. Robin didn't think it was that fun to smell of soap, but, again, he had no say. They were ushered into a very large limo to the almost deafening sound of cameras going off, and once inside they were met with a gold-toothed smile.

"Excellent show, lads. Now we're off to the reception, and after that we are going to do a few photo-opportunities. Remember to keep smiling, Robin. People paid good money for a reception-ticket, so let's show them a good time."

"Let's show them your entrails…" Robin muttered low enough so only Slade beside him could hear. The man chuckled softly.

"Yes, that's what I like to see, you two whispering and laughing. Very sweet. Remember to do it a lot during dinner. And kiss."

"Sir, you _are_ aware that we aren't really married, aren't you?" Robin frowned, feeling that he was more polite than the man deserved.

"Of course, but nothing should ruin the_ illusion_, son," the man smirked. "Besides, you're both gay… what's the harm…?"

"Excuse me?" Slade had straightened up, as well as Robin, and his voice was dangerous.

"Yes, well… it's not like it's anything serious! You people do each other all the time, anywhere, anyway, so why be grumpy about it? At least now you get a little luxury to go with it."

Robin was practically snarling at this time, and might have launched himself at the man if not for Slade's hand on his thigh.

"Mayor," the man said, his voice cold. "I'd like to point out that I owe the _government_ a few… favors. Not you personally."

"Was that a threat? You know something like that will get you back in prison, high security this time!" the nasty man leered.

"No it wasn't a threat. I would never threaten an upstanding man like yourself," Slade said, sounding not at all pleasant. "I remember threatening a friend of mine once, though… Charles Schwartz? I think you know him… he's your accountant, isn't he? Fine, upstanding man too, if you don't get to know him…"

The mayor had paled slightly, obviously wondering what Slade knew.

"But it's a happy day… let's forget our old friends who have disappointed us in the past…" Slade smiled, or rather smirked. "Robin and I will give you a good show. On one condition, though… keep out of our way."

"But' I'm to accompany you-"

"No. There are others who know where we need to go and do, one of your assistants, for example. If I see your face again, I might have an episode and choke you with the wedding-cake. That's not a threat either. My psychological profile was inconclusive. That's not my fault."

Robin's shoulders were quivering with laughter now.

* * *

He_ needed_ that laugh, because it would be a long day. As they entered the reception they were announced as Mister and Mister Wilson, something which made Robin choke until Slade pointed out that no one knew his last name.

"And I didn't think you would appreciate it if I told them…" the man whispered somewhat smugly. "But don't worry… you can use Grayson-Wilson in private if you'd like."

"You…_ know_…?" the teen felt more stunned than worried.

"Oh, yes. I know quite a few things about you. I'm willing to bet that if I had had any say in the planning of this thing, it would have been to your taste."

"Thanks," Robin snorted. "If you had, I might even decide to stand my groom…"

Slade chuckled at that and pulled Robin closer for the photographers.

* * *

The reception was beautiful, the toasts, mainly made by people he had never met, were tasteful and the food was delicious. They were, though, made to kiss, again and again, until Slade announced with a glare that enough was enough, and everyone settled. Robin found he minded less and less, though, and wondered what the man would do if _he_ tapped his glass like the guests had. Robin was brave, but he didn't dare try _that_.

* * *

After the lunch and the cutting of the cake, the newlyweds were detained and made to go through the gift-table. No actual gifts had been requested, but those who wanted were encouraged to leave a donation for different charities. Robin actually felt quite happy when he saw some rather long rows of zeroes.

"This will actually make a great difference…" he smiled at Slade.

"It will… I still feel like a whore, just a somewhat more exclusive one…" the man whispered back.

Robin's laughter filled the room this time, and the noise from the cameras, which were never completely quiet, rose again.

"Sirs… you are expected in the ball-room," a waiter told them with a small bow.

"The first dance?" Robin whispered to Slade. "It's supposed to be the first gay wedding in the city, why does it have to be so damn traditional?"

"Well, maybe the first song will be 'Dancing Queen'?" Slade suggested.

Robin chuckled.

"Damn lucky Bruce made me take lessons… hey, you know how to dance, don't you?"

"You have nothing to worry about my dear… as long as you let me lead."

"You insist?" Robin muttered.

"Yes. I'm taller. It looks better."

"Fine… but you better be good," Robin warned him.

Slade was. Robin had no idea how a mercenary and war-veteran ever found the need or time to learn how to waltz, but somewhere along the line, Slade obviously had.

* * *

Soon after the dance ended they were dragged away. It was time for the photo-opportunities, and that turned into a marketing-circus. It seemed every business in town had paid to have them take pictures with their products. Some were wedding-related, but others seemed very far-fetched. First they were photographed at a jewelry-store, apparently picking out the rings they were wearing, which, at least gave Robin the opportunity to check what they cost.

"Slade… " he whispered. "Do you know of a way to cram _more_ gold into a ring this size, or why the hell do they cost a small fortune? They are completely unadorned for god's sake!"

"Designer label. Never understood why people are willing to pay extra for a logo," the man muttered back.

"Same here. Guess we have some things in common."

"Well, a disregard for labels might not be much common ground to build a marriage on, but on the other hand it only has to last a week, so…" the man grinned.

"Favorite ice-cream flavor?" Robin grinned back.

"Banana."

"Two things, then. If we work on it, I think we'll make it."

After that, they were directed, by a very polite and quiet assistant, to a florist where they were photographed with copies of the wedding's flower-arrangements.

"Hey, I didn't have a flower bouquet!" Robin realized.

"Did you _want _one?" Slade arched an eyebrow.

"Hell no. I meant it as a good thing! Like I didn't have to wear a dress…" Robin smirked.

"All right… if not, I'm sure we could steal one of these… or you could. I'm on probation," Slade suggested.

"Yeah, how's that working out for you?" Robin couldn't help but tease.

"Fabulously. If it wasn't for the probation, I wouldn't have met my husband…" the man grinned back.

He florist was followed by a catering-business, a bakery, and a wedding-planner.

"Good… now we know who to blame…" Slade growled in Robin's ear. The teen snickered.

"It wasn't too bad, though… I mean, apart from the context everything was beautiful… sure, a little too big and beautiful for me, but… really not bad for a week's work."

The woman, who had thankfully only heard the last line, bustled up to them.

"A week? No, dear, we have been working on this for three months now."

"What?" Robin gaped, and Slade pulled him aside.

"I'm guessing the mayor didn't say anything until you turned eighteen because he didn't want to be accused of anything illegal involving minors," the man said.

"So you've known all along?" Robin frowned.

"No, I was told the same day as you were… trust me, if I've been told three months ago, I would have made sure to be on some sort of government mission in North Korea by now."

"Oh," Robin said, feeling inexplicitly hurt. "Yeah, I guess anything is better than this, huh?" he mumbled.

"Don't get me wrong… it's the man who arranged it I can't stand, not you."

"Oh," Robin felt slightly better now. A lot better, actually.

"I'd suffer a visit to a florist any day with you. Well… every other day, at least," the man declared.

"Damn charmer…" Robin muttered, blushing a little.

* * *

Next they left for a bank, where they were apparently interested in the company's first-home loan.

"I wonder if they would accept the Tower as security…" Robin snorted as they left.

The next stop was a men's clothing store, which went smoothly, but the next appointment was worse: a bed retailer.

"Let's see you try this one out!" one of the photographers shouted and pointed at a big king-size.

"Could… couldn't we just… you know… go like this?" Robin asked and bent down, placing his hands on the bed and pushing down in the classical 'is it soft enough' fashion.

"No, no, I want you cuddling. Really romantic," the man with the camera said, being backed up by the art-director or whoever the hell the man with the clip-board was. There was no fighting them. They were made to take off their jackets to make it look a bit more 'natural' according to the clip-board guy, and then Robin found himself in Slade's arms.

"Good! Good, keep that blush! Blushing bride on the wedding-night, very nice!" the man with the camera shouted, making Robin whimper.

"Well…" he muttered into Slade's neck. "It can't get any worse."

He was wrong. He was very, very wrong.

* * *

A home decorating-shop was next, and Robin was made to smile at an amazingly ugly lamp. Next was a insurance-company and a security company, but after that came the jacuzzi dealership. They were made to change into swim trunks and 'enjoy an intimate, relaxing and romantic bath together' according to the photo-crew. Robin did find it a little_ too _intimate and not very relaxing at all. The props included chocolate dipped strawberries and tall glasses of bubbly.

"Is this real champagne?" Robin asked.

"Of course!" one woman called out proudly.

"Are you aware that I'm under twenty-one?" the teen smirked and drained the glass. After that the shooting got a little more strained on the other's part and a little more relaxed on Robin's.

"You are evil. I like that," Slade whispered into his ear, while feeding him a strawberry.

"Oh, you should see me if the mayor hadn't threatened to cut our funds…" Robin smirked.

"Ah, so that was it? I was wondering what kind of a hold he had on you to make you go through with this…" the man said.

"Well… I think I can be persuaded to let you feed me strawberries more often…" the teen grinned.

"I'm going to hold you to that…" the man purred, and Robin was suddenly hoping that they would be allowed to stay in the water just a bit longer, because he really didn't want to stand up right then.

* * *

The bike-dealership was a kind of a puzzle to Robin, as was the camping equipment store. The travel agent was a more natural choice, and Robin couldn't help but whistle under his breath when he saw pictures of the hotel they were going to stay at.

"Damn, this might actually be worth it…" he winked at Slade, but, a little later, he had to eat his words as they arrived at a pharmacy.

"I'm not doing this…" Robin hissed in a panic, as the manager showed them not only the store's new range of condoms and lube, they had also been eager to get on the gay trend and now had 'intimate toys' for men.

"I'm sure they won't have you _demonstrate_ one…" Slade muttered, obviously torn between amusement and horror himself.

"_Are_ you?" Robin hissed.

"Well… I _hope_ so," the man shrugged.

In the end Robin had to pretend to read the label on a ridiculously large bottle of lube, while Slade was studying the rack of condoms. The toys where, thankfully, only in the background, but Robin swore to never be in a picture with butt-plugs ever again. It shouldn't be such a hard promise to keep, he figured.

"You know what the really good thing about this is?" Robin said as they left, the teen carrying a small gift basket full of the same things they had just been marketing.

"It's water-based?" Slade asked innocently. "I don't know; _you_ were the one who read the label."

"Ha-ha," Robin snorted. No, what's great, is that all this hits the paper tomorrow, we will be on our way across the continent. And it's petroleum-based, actually… 'the best for anal play'," Robin cited.

"I can't believe you said that without blushing," Slade chuckled.

"I might not have blushed, but I died a little inside," Robin murmured.

"Aww… poor you," the man laughed and put an arm around him briefly before they got in the car. "Try to keep alive. There can't be too many stops left."

There wasn't. A spa, a car-dealership, a pet-shop and then an adoption-agency, something Robin felt worse about that the sex-toys. It was one thing to make fun of _him_, but as they were surrounded by orphaned children he hated the feeling of them being exposed.

"Think of it this way…" Slade whispered as the art-director complained about Robin not 'smiling with his eyes' like he thought he was Tyra Banks. "If gay men can get married they can also, according to the new law, adopt, and this might give them the courage to try, giving some of these children parents."

They got through that shoot somehow and, at last, they were told that they were heading to a hotel.

"You will be taken to separate rooms to shower and dress for dinner. That starts at nine, so you have an hour."

Robin glanced down at his watch, well… not_ his_ watch, one he had been equipped with, and blinked. He couldn't believe they had spent the whole day driving around the city taking pictures. He was exhausted, but there was no time to rest.

* * *

After his shower, he dressed and was then taken away for another pampering and styling session. Robin was amazed to find someone who spent longer time on the teen's hair than he did himself.

He was actually glad to see Slade again and smiled at the man, who looked very good in a dark blue suit. He had also gotten his usual black eye patch back, and the teen thought it looked better than the white. Robin had been given a light grey suit, and he was glad they weren't dressed like identical twins anymore.

* * *

The dinner was again superb, as expected, and held for fewer people, there couldn't have been more than about two hundred there. They were encouraged to kiss a few times for the cameras, but other than that they were almost treated with respect. Robin spotted his team a few tables down, but didn't get an opportunity to speak with them before dinner was over and they were herded out yet again. He managed a small wave in their direction, trying to show them that he was fine.

"Your last stop for today is the last photo-op," they were told in the limo. Robin had expected a hotel, but instead they were taken to an area of new-builds.

"This area is being developed for couples without children, who are either just buying their first house or enjoying their retirement," a guide told them as they got out. "We suggested this as the place for your wedding-night."

"What? No sex-dungeon? I'm disappointed…" Robin murmured.

"We haven't seen the inside yet… a home becomes what you make of it…" Slade leered.

"Pervert," Robin chuckled.

"_Me_? I was walking around thinking this was a nice, quiet neighborhood, _you_ were the one who started talking bout dungeons," the man pointed out innocently.

"My bad. Won't happen again," Robin sighed.

"On the contrary, I'm _very _interested to hear more. Will there be chains? Whips? Some sort of padded bench, perhaps?" the man asked eagerly.

"Stop it or they are going to ask why I'm blushing looking at the garden!" Robin hissed back. "And any whips will be used on _you_."

"Why? Want to keep the paddles to yourself?" the man wanted to know.

* * *

The last photo of the day was of the newlyweds waving from the front door. As the other's left, Robin closed that door, locked it, and then collapsed against it.

"Damn, my cheeks hurt! I _never _want to smile that much again!" he complained. "I thought I was used to this shit, but I was sooooo wrong."

"Well, we've been royally whored out today…" Slade muttered and almost fell back into a stuffed chair.

"Never felt so cheap in my life," Robin agreed. "And I have promoted Teen Titan's T-shirts and bath-soaps for god's sake. But at least I knew that all that money went to a good cause."

"We will have to try to believe that our sacrifice will make the businesses in Jump boom, at least temporarily."

"And when they go down again? Are they going to make us adopt for real? And then tattoo the kid with slogans?" Robin muttered, sinking down into the chair next to Slade.

"There's proof of your evil mind again…" Slade chuckled. "Though I wouldn't be surprised…"

"They… they…" Robin stuttered as he had started to giggle uncontrollably, due to exhaustion, "they are probably going to make us feed the kid until he's really fat so there's room for more tats..." he gasped.

"You are horrible…" Slade smirked. "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm absolutely beat… I'm going to take a shower and then head to bed. You?"

"Yeah, me too," Robin yawned. "I don't have any things!" he suddenly realized.

"I've been informed everything will be provided for us," Slade said. "Of course we will probably have to answer questions about the products…" he added in a growl.

* * *

Robin took a look around the small but very nice bungalow and discovered the fact that it only had one bedroom. It had an office as well, but no extra bed. Not even a three-seat sofa.

"Well, it_ is_ a house designed for childless couples…" Slade said as it became obvious what Robin was looking for. "At least the bed is big, and I won't insist on any husbandly rights," he grinned.

"I'm very disappointed now," Robin pretended to sulk, before he spotted something on the bed. "Oh, no, they brought the basket! I left it in the car!"

"Put it in the closet. Maybe it will be overlooked by the cleaning-crew and give the new buyers something to wonder about…" Slade suggested.

Robin chuckled and did just that.

* * *

After showering and brushing his teeth Robin found himself lacking something else.

"Have you found any pajamas?" he asked Slade, who had showered before him.

"Yes, but you won't be happy," the man said, stepping out of the bedroom to hand him a bundle of folded up silky material. The man himself was dressed in black silky pajama bottoms, which Robin eyed with interest.

"What, they look good enough…" _to eat…_ he added quietly to himself.

"They are fine, but I hope you don't mind if I keep the top off?"

_Hell no!_ Robin's mind said.

"No, that's okay," he said aloud and unfolded his own set. Or at least he thought so. After a stunned second or two he tried to put his discovery into words. "They… they gave me a fucking _nightgown_?"

"It's a man's nightshirt, and yes. Sorry, but the size says so. Ignore it. Sleep in your boxers or something," Slade suggested.

"Yeah, but I… don't like having underwear on in bed…" Robin regretted telling the man this, but somehow couldn't stop himself. "It's so restricting…" he added, trying to make it sound better.

"You know those husbandly rights I said I would waver…?" the man grinned. "You are making me regret that decision. Try it on, then… Men slept in those things for hundreds of years, they can't be_ that_ bad… at least it doesn't have any lace."

"It is light blue, though…" Robin muttered, but then felt like he had stood in front of the man wearing only a towel a bit too long, and pulled the thing on. It didn't _feel_ that bad, but it still made him look like a prat. He let his towel fall to the floor and took a look at himself in the mirror.

"Thank god they didn't make me take pictures in this," he muttered and then quickly got into bed.

"Crazy day, huh?" Slade commented as he got in on the other side.

"Understatement."

"Don't take this the wrong way, but as I had to go through this, I'm glad it was with you…" Slade said, turning towards Robin and propping himself up on an elbow.

"Likewise."

"A favor?" the man asked.

"I'm getting suspicious…" Robin smirked.

"Take your mask off?" the man requested.

"Oh… okay…" Robin had kept it on out of habit, but now, as Slade knew his identity, there were no real need. He peeled it off and looked up at the man.

"Hmmm… One more kiss for the cameras?" Slade purred.

Robin grinned but then turned white.

"There… there _are _no cameras here, right?"

"No, I've already checked. I was just trying to get to kiss you again. Damn me and my vile ways," the man sighed woefully, making Robin laugh.

"Well… _one _more couldn't hurt…" Robin smiled.

And it didn't.

* * *

Robin woke up the next day with his cheek against Slade's shoulder. He was pretty sure that they had fallen asleep very properly on either side of the bed after the goodnight kiss, but he supposed he couldn't be blamed for moving around a bit in his sleep.

"Morning…" the teen murmured and moved away furtively.

"Morning," Slade answered sounding a bit more awake, making Robin wonder if the man had let him sleep on his shoulder for long.

"What time is it? Did they say when we were going to leave for the airport?" Robin asked, sitting up, pulling his nightshirt down as he did so, makings sure he was decent.

"They did, but you were off in the garden pouting about the lack of a sex-room," Slade smirked. "It's nine and we'll leave at ten-thirty."

"Good. I needed a slow morning…" Robin yawned and got up.

* * *

A bit later Slade called him from the kitchen.

"What do you want for breakfast?"

"What is there?" Robin replied, busy drying his hair after his morning shower.

"Everything, and enough for ten," the man replied, peaking the teen's interest.

"Pfft, if they think they can bribe me with food…" Robin muttered as he entered the kitchen and saw the open refrigerator, "…they are completely right! Wow! I mean, what's missing? Quail's eggs?"

"Nope, there are some. Tell me, who eats lobster for breakfast?"

"I do, starting today," Robin grinned. "Okay, are there any ostrich-eggs, then?"

"No."

"They are skimping on us! I'll complain!" Robin chuckled.

"You should write them a note…" Slade chuckled and then turned form the fridge towards the teen. "Seriously, though, I'm happy you are starting to have fun with this… I think we can have a good time despite the idiots, don't you?"

"What idiots? They got me lobster for breakfast," Robin smirked, but then his smile widened a bit. "Yeah… I think we can."

Slade nodded, obviously pleased, and started to retrieve things from the fridge so they could narrow their breakfast buffet down a bit.

* * *

"How did this happen, you think?" Robin said as they were seated at the small kitchen table in the very cute little breakfast-nook overlooking the garden.

"How the mayor got the idea, you mean? It might have been my fault," Slade sighed.

Robin straightened up a little, immediately on his guard. Slade saw this and made a calming gesture. "No, I didn't suggest it, I'm not crazy… and now I have the paperwork to prove it," he added with a smirk.

"Weren't the tests inconclusive?" Robin muttered.

"Right… Well, in any case, I think it started with the quote in that newspaper… we are two of Jump's most famous people, and we were both supporting the same cause, which happened to be gay marriage and… well, even a sleazy rat like our dear mayor could connect those dots and figure out how to make a profit from it…"

"Yeah, I guess…" Robin murmured and tasted his yogurt, before making a face and putting several spoonfuls of jam in it.

"Don't look so blue, I think we actually can do some good here," Slade said.

"How?" Robin asked with his mouth full.

"Well, even with passing this laws there will always be people against gay rights, like some religious and political groups. If anyone is to speak out about their twisted opinions, however, they need to deal with Jump's most treasured hero and its most feared criminal. Well. Former criminal."

"Hmmm… I guess it would take some guts to do _that_…" Robin smirked.

"And a death wish," Slade smirked back.

"Yeah… we're so _baaaad_…" Robin said flippantly, making the older male laugh.

Slade had a nice laugh, Robin discovered. Deep and natural. It made his heart do little strange flips.

To distract himself he started the toaster and then looked out over the garden and smiled.

"In a different life, and I mean a _totally_ different life, I think I could live here," he said.

"You would be bored to death within a week!" Slade snorted.

"No… I'd have hobbies… like building models in the garage, maybe gardening…" Robin said. "What would you do?"

"Me? We're married in this little world of yours?"

"Yes, I said it was a totally different one!" Robin said. "So, what would you do?"

"You," Slade smirked.

"Oh, that's crude," Robin sniffed, but couldn't stifle a little laugh.

"I'm serious, Stick me in this suburban hell-hole and that would be the only thing of interest for me. I would be doing you around the clock… You could glue your little models together while I was doing it, though, I wouldn't mind."

"And gardening?"

"We might run into some trouble with the neighbors there, but maybe that would give you a break…" the man shrugged with a teasing grin.

"Nah, I think you would be the go-to guy in the area, fixing people's stuff, organizing the Neighborhood watch…" Robin grinned.

"You are taking me so far out of my comfort zone, I can't even see the borders anymore…" Slade complained.

"We would have a golden retriever named Buddy…" Robin continued dreamingly and got a mouth full of buttered bread.

"Snap out of it, or I'm going to call my psychiatrist," Slade snorted.

"I can see why you still keep in touch," Robin spluttered.

"We don't. He's terrified of me." Slade looked smug. "Poor guy. I quite liked him. I barely played any mind-games with him at all. Wait. Are you eating my sandwich?"

"You practically _fed_ it to me," Robin defended himself. "If you put something in my mouth it's mine."

"Nice to know… a little disturbing, but nice," The man smirked and as soon as Robin had replayed the last thing he had said in his mind, he blushed.

* * *

The limo came to pick them up at exactly ten-thirty and by then they were both casually dressed in jeans and short-sleeved shirts, ready for the long flight. Robin had purposefully chosen clothes that looked as simple as possible, but he couldn't help but notice that this was designer-stuff as well, and he wouldn't' be surprised if it was limited editions. At least they fit surprisingly well. The last thing he did was to put his mask back on.

* * *

When they entered the car they regretfully discovered the art director and photographer from the day before.

"I thought we were just going to the airport…?" Robin whined.

"Yes, but we will take some pictures there and on the plane, and, of course, during your whole trip," The AD explained like it was a treat. "You dressed well, here, these are for you," He added and handed them a pair of sunglasses each.

"You are going to take pictures the whole time?" the teen objected, putting the glasses in his shirt pocket.

"I'm sure the gentlemen understand that we would appreciate some privacy…" Slade said with a glare in the 'gentlemen's' direction.

"Of course! We'll set up some photo-ops, like by the pool, on the beach… some sights around Aruba, but other than that we'll leave you alone."

"Other than that we'd better not even _see_ you…" Robin muttered sullenly.

"Please excuse my husband, he didn't get enough sleep last night…" Slade smirked and got an elbow in the gut for the little joke. "Ouff… domestic violence… ugly…" he muttered.

Robin just snorted, but, after a while, leaned a little against the man in a matter of apology. Slade's hand came up and ran through his hair, showing him the gestured had been understood and the apology accepted.

"Excuse me for saying this," the photographer said, "but you two are great actors… either that or there's something real to this sham…"

"Thank you," Robin snorted. "We are obviously in the wrong business then…" But he kept leaning against Slade.

* * *

The plane-trip was uneventful, but once they started talking it went relatively quickly. They were in first class, of course, and had a whole compartment to themselves so they could talk freely. They both had stories of adventures and misadventures that would last for days, although Robin suspected that Slade kept the bloodier ones to himself. He didn't mind though, it was very refreshing to hear about the man's many rescue-missions and dangerous criminals he had caught or helped catch. Slade did bring up some things from his shadier side, however, but the story about his he had fooled Batman into a wild goose chase across Gotham, only made Robin laugh.

"I bought him a beer on my next trip there, though, so I think we're good," Slade said.

"You didn't?" Robin gaped.

"Yes I did. Left it on his nightstand. Complete with a note," Slade smirked.

"Saying what?" Robin was already choking from withheld laughter.

"Oh, just a phone-number to a security-specialist…" Slade shrugged.

"I'm so glad I wasn't living there at the time…" the teen sighed. "He would have been livid!"

"I got out of the city pretty fast myself, I have to say," the man smirked.

* * *

As they finally landed in what seemed to be the middle of the night, more photos were taken, and at the hotel they were welcomed by the staff, handing them a gift-basket, but this one, Robin was glad to see, was a more traditional one with champagne, fruit and other treats.

"I'm still eighteen…" Robin pointed out as he got his arms full with the basket.

"Ah, but the legal drinking and gambling age here_ is_ eighteen!" the manager told them. "I hope you will enjoy your stay. Now, there are no private beaches on Aruba, but since this hotel faces a very large portion of beach and your city has booked over half of the rooms to make sure you are not crowded, I'm sure you will have privacy. We have also reserved one of the pool-areas for you."

"Thank you," Robin smiled. "Very thoughtful," If there had been some other kind of special treatment he might feel embarrassed, but if there was one thing he appreciated it was privacy.

"Let me show you to your suite. Your luggage has already arrived and been unpacked."

* * *

The rooms were wonderful with a huge common room, an almost as large bedroom, and a bathroom to match. The floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked a fantastic white beach which was now bathing in moonlight. Robin was busy looking at everything that barely noticed the manager bowing his way out after telling them that everything of course was on the house, including all the facilities and restaurants at the hotel. The teen ventured out onto the balcony and found a big jacuzzi, and the size of the balcony made it seem like it was just tucked away in the corner.

There were no mints on their pillows, Robin discovered, but rather baskets of gifts as well as a well stocked refrigerator and bar. Robin spent some time looking at a pile of fruit almost as tall as he was, before shaking his head at the unnecessary extravagance.

"I take back what I said back in Jump… _here_ I can live…" he grinned nonetheless.

"You know what? I think I probably could too, at least for a month or so…" Slade agreed and joined him on the balcony. "Listen, I had a talk with our favorite photo-crew and I suggested that we take all the pictures we need to take tomorrow… that means it will be a busy day, but then they will leave us alone for the rest of the week. Sounds good?"

"Sounds perfect… What time is it?"

"I'm barely sure what _day_ it is," Slade chuckled. "The flight took ten hours with that stop we had to do… why they didn't pay for a private jet I don't know…" Slade said.

"Because then the commercial airline wouldn't gotten the promotion," Robin said dryly.

"Right. I managed to forget that we are walking advertisements…" Slade answered in a similar tone. "Well, Aruba is four hours ahead of us, so… it's around midnight?"

"The bed is calling me…" Robin yawned. "I want to try the bathtub, but I'm afraid I'll fall asleep and drown. Gonna take a quick shower…"

"I can always hold you up?" Slade suggested.

"You are such a gentleman," Robin snorted and took his mask off.

"And environmentally friendly, as we save water that way," Slade tried to get another point across.

"You can be a hero some other time," Robin chuckled as he headed for the bathroom.

"Promise?" the man purred behind him.

* * *

The rooms were done in very light colors, mainly white accented by yellow in the lounge and green in the bedroom. The bathroom was also white but with a tropical blue theme. The towels, stacked up in the shelves looked thick enough to use as mattresses, and Robin couldn't help but squeal a little inside. He might have grown up in a millionaire's house, but even he was impressed by this kind of luxury. He took some time to choose one of the hand-made soaps, and sniff the different shampoos and conditioners and then stepped into the state of the art shower.

* * *

As he came out from the bathroom, wrapped in a fluffy robe, he was met by Slade, holding out a flute of champagne towards him.

"I'd thought we ought to toast to our first day on our honeymoon…" the man said. "And legally too."

Robin smiled and took the glass.

"To our honeymoon," he said, raising it.

"May we survive it," Slade added, with a smirk.

"May the camera-crew survive it, I'm not worried about_ us_," Robin corrected the man.

"You are right… may they survive it, or at least let their deaths look like accidents…" the man added as an afterthought. "And lets have some fun ignoring them."

"Hear, hear," Robin agreed and drank to it.

* * *

As Slade showered, Robin went in search of night clothes and was happy to find a selection of more normal pajamas this time. They were all in a silky material, as that was apparently what the providers had decided that gay men wore on their honeymoon, but Robin found a pair of black, loose pants which only went to his knees, like Bermuda shorts, and those seemed comfortable enough to sleep in. He had crawled into bed by the time Slade came into the room, and turned to greet him when the man reached the wardrobe and removed his towel.

With a gasp Robin turned back, blushing. Sure it was dark, but not_ that_ dark…

"I'm sorry, I thought you were asleep," Slade said, actually sounding worried. "I didn't mean to-"

"That's okay! Honest mistake…" Robin hurriedly told him.

"Well, it's safe to turn around now… no more adult shows…" Slade chuckled.

"Well, it's just that I don't have a ticket…" Robin tried to joke, fighting the remains of his blush.

"We are married… that means you have a _season_ ticket… valid for all rides and attractions…" the man assured him.

"Seems like you are trying out the 'ego-boost' yourself," Robin snickered, and got to hear Slade laugh again.

"It's a fun, fast ride, but damn it's scary when it goes downhill…" Slade agreed.

Robin snickered and then reluctantly sat up.

"Darn, I forgot to brush my teeth… back in a minute."

"I'll be awake. I'm hoping for another goodnight kiss here," Slade told him.

"And you might get it too…" Robin half promised.

* * *

He lived up to the promise as he came back, although the kiss was almost chaste. Last night they had been kissing all day, so it seemed natural, but now it suddenly seemed more intimate, and Robin held himself back a little. Pretending was all fun and games, and Slade had proved to be very interesting to be around, but this was still a publicity-stunt and not exactly _real. _With that thought Robin fell asleep.

* * *

The next day was almost as hectic as their wedding-day. First they were taken around the hotel, having their picture taken while pretending to eat at all the different restaurants, pretending to gamble at the hotel casino, enjoying the pool, taking a stroll, hand in hand, on the beach, and then they were whisked away to all around this island; a butterfly museum, an ostrich-farm, which amused Robin since he had pretended to be upset over the lack of the giant eggs the day before, and several more beaches. Robin found the island to be beautiful, and even more so when they were taken to a sight which used to hold two natural bridges, carved from the coral limestone from the surf. The larger one, they were told, had collapsed around five years ago, but there was still a smaller 'baby bridge' left.

It was a beautiful natural wonder, and they had their pictures taken on that as well.

"I think this is the first photo I actually want a copy of," Robin whispered as they posed.

"Oh, I wouldn't mind one from the pharmacy either… if only as black-mailing material," Slade grinned.

"Okay you two, you look good, but you are on your honeymoon. A bit closer please? A kiss perhaps? Good, but heat it up a little, will you?"

Robin wanted to scream at the man to shut up and just let him enjoy it, because he felt close to heaven in Slade's arms. The man's hands, which he had kept rather still until now, was now caressing him, and the teen responded on all levels at once, making him dizzy.

"Cut, that's enough," A voice disturbed them, and Robin cursed under his breath to the man's amusement.

Robin had no time to analyze his feelings, because next they were off to some caves.

"This is the Quadiriki Caves and next we'll go to the Guadirikiri Caves and the Tunnel of Love," they were told, making Robin hiccup and Slade chuckle.

"You are not uncomfortable here, are you?" the Art Director asked as they were setting up for the photo shoot.

"In a cave? Believe me, my husband feels _right_ at home… especially with all this bat-dung," Slade smirked.

"Yes, and dark, damp places are so not _your _cup of tea…" Robin muttered back, earning a snort from the man.

* * *

The rest of the day was filled with more things for them to either do or pretend to do, like parasailing, deep sea fishing and horseback riding. Some of it was fun, but all of it was exhausting.

In the late afternoon their tormentors finally decided that their job was done and the couple collapsed on a couple of sun beds beside a pool. Robin desperately wanted to cool off in the water, but didn't have the energy to go up to their room and look for swimming-trunks. Fortunately a hotel employee came out to offer to get them everything they would need. The teen changed behind a partition which also had a few showers so the guests could rinse off the chlorine in the pool water if they wanted, and slipped into the water with a blissful sigh. Slade joined him a few moments later, and the two of them just relaxed in silence for a while.

* * *

The feelings, or rather, sensations, he had experienced wouldn't leave Robin alone, however. Was it just hormones? There was no denying that Slade was attractive. The man was also fun, but not in the childish 'stank-ball-playing' way, thankfully. Interesting, intelligent… Robin realized that he was well on his way to fall for the man. He had been on his mind for years, actually, but as a criminal he had been off limits to even think about in any other way than the righteous one… something Robin had failed at, especially in his dreams. But, truth be told, Robin wasn't interested in a relationship with a man who potentially hurt people, it would be too much of a strain for him. Now, however… the question was, did Slade feel the same way, or was he just flirting for the hell of it? Robin sighed and started floating on his back, his mind in a hamster-wheel; racing but getting nowhere.

Suddenly he was lifted up, and yelped. He was then dumped straight back into the water again, and resurfaced, spluttering.

"What the hell, Slade?"

"I had to wake you up, you were miles off…" the man smirked at him. "Let's take a walk on the beach before dinner, shall we? We already have our trunks on, and I want to test the water."

"And I thought getting rid of the annoying duo meant I would actually get to _relax_ for a while…" Robin muttered.

"Aww, poor you... want me to carry you?" Slade grinned.

* * *

Robin just snorted, but an hour later Slade ended up carrying him none the less. They had been walking in the shallows along the endless beaches when Robin had had the misfortune of being stung by a jelly-fish. It wasn't serious, but the tentacle had ended up between two of his toes, making it rather painful to walk. The young hero had to endure the humiliation of being carried.

"Why not piggy-back?" Robin objected, cradled in the man's arms.

"A man carrying another man that way would only make people laugh. This way it's more obvious that you are probably hurt," the man explained. "What do you want? Giggles or sympathy?"

"Sympathy…" Robin muttered.

"There you go, then," the man said smugly, smiling down at him. "Besides, this way I can give you a sympathy-kiss," he added and kissed Robin's nose, making the teen laugh.

After looking up into the man's face, however, Robin turned serious.

"Slade?"

"Yes."

"Err… okay, let me down for a moment, I can't do it like this…" the teen said, and was soon back on his feet. Well. Foot.

"Do what? I'm intrigued…" Slade let him know.

Robin drew a deep breath. He could go on for days wondering, trying to interpret signals, but he preferred to be more open about things… unfortunately that took a lot of courage.

"Err… I don't know, maybe I'm crazy, but… is there something going on here…?" he asked, hoping his blush was kept to a minimum.

"Do you want it to be?" Slade asked, his hand landing softly on Robin's hip.

"Do_ you_ want it to be?" Robin asked back.

"Would I have gone to prison if I didn't?" the man said bluntly.

"You… you did that for… me?" Robin's head swam.

"Partly. I also _did_ want to leave that part of my life behind. It might have brought me a certain amount of wealth and adventures, but on a personal level it has been devastating. I'm tired of it. Not to the extent that I will consider a suburban life, mind you…" the man grinned.

"I wouldn't make you. Ever," the teen promised.

"Good. So…_ is_ there something going on?" the man asked.

"Hell yes," Robin grinned and reached up to wind his arms around the man's neck.

"Thank god, because that was one_ hell_ of a boring year…" Slade chuckled, showing the teen that he was joking.

Robin, however, felt guilty.

"I'm sorry I didn't come to visit you," he mumbled.

"Why would you? Besides, it was good for me to be apart from you, you needed to become an adult before I could swoop in and devour you…" the man leered.

"Really? There seems to be very little swooping and devouring going on…" Robin pointed out.

"I'll amend that right away," Slade promised and bent his head to kiss him.

* * *

This kiss was not for show and it was definitely not holding back. Robin never even noticed as he put his hurt foot back in the sand. The teen was pretty much prepared to have the man push him down and take him right there on the beach, but thankfully Slade had some sense of propriety and ended the kiss before they went too far.

* * *

Back at the hotel the resident nurse bathed Robin's foot in something which smelled like, and probably was, vinegar, and made sure that all the little stingers were removed from the skin. After a description from Robin she told them that he animal hadn't been any of the more dangerous kinds, and the stung area was very small so he would probably barely feel it the next day. The pain had already almost disappeared, no worse than a nettle-sting, but Robin took the pain-pills he was given none the less, to make sure he would be fine as soon as possible. As Robin was advised not to rinse the area in fresh water for a little while, they didn't shower before dinner but ate by the pool, dressed in trunks and robes, feeling refreshingly improper. Robin wouldn't mind upping the improperness a bit, however, that very night.

* * *

When they returned to their room they showered, separately, and then settled together in a loveseat on the balcony, wearing the soft bathrobes, a basket of goodies and some fresh orange juice on the table in front of them.

They talked about the day and touched a lot, but otherwise just relaxed together, both happily content with knowing that they enjoyed each other's company. Robin had removed his mask, since no one could see them up here, and if someone would knock on the door he would have time to put that or his sunglasses on… It felt freer without a mask and besides, Slade seemed to be like his eyes very much.

"I was thinking we might rent a car for the week to see some of the sights ourselves…" Slade suggested. "I also saw a brochure for a Harley Davidson's rental, though…"

"Roaring around on a Harley is fun, but it seems so… I don't know… _wrong_ here," Robin said. "I just want peace and quiet… if that won't bore you to death?"

"No, I think I can manage a week…" Slade smirked.

"Besides, maybe we could do some real deep-sea fishing?" the teen suggest. "I can't believe they made us pose on the boat while it was still tied to the dock…"

"What about scuba-diving and snorkeling? Do you have a license?"

"Is Batman cranky?" Robin grinned. "Oh, but I don't have it with me… I have no personal papers at all! Lord, I don't even have a passport! I didn't think about it because we were taken straight from the plane to the car. I don't even have any money! Or-"

"Don't worry, there's a special permit for us waiting in the lobby, and there's spending-money as well… quite a bit of it."

"How do you know that?"

"Because when _I_ am told I am going to take a trip abroad, _I_ ask questions," Slade smirked.

"Smug bastard," Robin snorted with a laugh.

"Well, some things never change," Slade shrugged. "At least we won't have to beg on the streets to buy a drink outside of the hotel," he added. "Our 'allowance' is pretty extensive, by the way."

"Good, I'm gonna buy souvenirs for all my friends," Robin promised himself.

"May I suggest a framed picture of us at the natural bridge for Bruce?" Slade smirked.

"You want him dead, don't you?" Robin snickered. "Oh, how will we ever tell him?"

"Tell him? He ought to have heard about the campaign by now… didn't you warn him beforehand, by the way?"

"I… forgot," the teen admitted. "Well, actually I didn't really want his opinion too. I had enough with all the others."

"Maybe he could have bailed you out? Made a donation to match the city's contribution?" Slade suggested.

"That I _really_ wouldn't want. He would never let me forget that …" Robin muttered.

"I'll help you set up a few things when we get back to make sure you're not as economically vulnerable any more… Much of what the city is passing on to you comes from civilian contributions, if would be better if those went directly to you instead."

"Yes… thank you. I should have been more involved than I have been, but there have simply been no time left to do more than just more or less pay the bills," Robin sighed and leaned his head on Slade's shoulder. "I hate administration."

"I'll help you sort it out, and when we are done you will be able to afford to flatten the whole city center on a monthly basis," The man promised.

"Really? Great, because Cy wants to test run some stronger sonic cannons…" Robin smirked. "And BB said something about T-rex on skates, but I hope he was joking."

"Knowing him, he wasn't," Slade chuckled.

"Nope," Robin agreed with a laugh of his own.

"Well, we don't need to plan the rest of the week tonight…" Slade said and watched the setting sun.

"No… but I think it's time for something else…" Robin smiled and stood up. He took Slade's hand and made the man stand as well, before pulling him into the bedroom. Not that he had to pull _hard_…

"Are you sure it's not too soon?" Slade asked seriously.

"We've been married for two days, according to the rest of the planet, we are way _behind_," Robin grinned and climbed on the bed, pulling Slade with him.

"Maybe we can catch up?" the man suggested with a chuckle.

"Well, we can try?" Robin grinned and started working on the belt of the man's bathrobe. As it fell open, revealing the man's chest, the teen felt almost giddy. He slid his hands over the skin while his own robe was opened by Slade. They were still half sitting on the bed and shrugged the clothing off. None of them was wearing anything underneath.

"You are even more beautiful than I thought you were," Slade murmured and kissed his neck.

"I would say likewise, but that sounds so cheesy…" Robin chuckled and yelped as his neck was bitten. "Hey, what are you? A vampire?"

"Yes, with one hell of a sun block…" Slade growled and nipped at his neck again. "I'm gonna suuuck your blooood!" he added in a tremendously bad vampire imitation which left Robin howling with laughter.

"I'd… rather… you… suck something else…" he almost sobbed.

"Don't mind if I do…" the man agreed and bent down.

"No fair, we should both go at the same time," Robin said and stretched out on the bed. He didn't feel at all self conscious, maybe because he knew Slade wanted him, he wanted Slade and it felt right, he felt safe with the man. "get your cock over here…" he grinned and patted the bed next to his head.

"With that attitude we are _defiantly_ going to catch up…" Slade purred.

* * *

"Maybe we shouldn't have left the gift-basket in the house?" Robin muttered as they, half an hour later, realized that they needed a few things if they wanted to take things any further.

"I'll check the medicine cabinet," Slade offered and did so, but not before giving Robin a very long goodbye kiss. After all, he was going into the next room so they wouldn't see each other for several seconds.

"Jackpot!" Robin grinned as the man came back with his hands full.

"Found lube and condoms, several kinds of both."

"Let's just try one at a time… and you don't have to wear a condom if you don't… you know… _have _to," Robin said, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"You sure?"

"We're married. If I get pregnant I expect you to take the responsibility," Robin smirked.

"If you do I think I'll be busy fending off all the scientists who would want to cut you up and figure out how the hell_ that_ happened…" Slade chuckled.

"Well, that_ is_ responsible," Robin shrugged and grinned. "You want to know the real reason?"

"Yes?"

"I want to find out how it feels when you come in me…" the teen purred and tugged the man down on the bed again. "Now grab one of those bottles and do your job!"

* * *

Robin had to bite his lip and try to think happy thoughts as Slade entered him, but after a few moments it started to feel better.

"You're as tight as a virgin…" the man above him panted.

"Well… I _did_ wear white…" Robin smirked up at him, withdrawing his nails from the man's shoulder-blades. He hadn't realized that he had clung so hard to him, but Slade didn't seem to mind.

"What…? You…?" Slade stopped moving and had never looked so lost for words. The teen couldn't help but chuckle, which earned him a worried frown. "Are you all right?" the man added.

"Yes! Don't you think I would have told you otherwise? Please keep moving?"

"Stupid brave hero…" the man growled and kissed him deeply. "If you just had_ said_ something… I could have hurt you!"

"I don't think so… you were very gentle with me… any more of that and we wouldn't have gotten this far until morning… and what is that you used to say I lack?"

"Patience…" the man grinned.

"That's right… and you expected me to suddenly gain some? Do you know me at _all_?" Robin snorted. "Moooove!"

* * *

They didn't leave their room for two days. They both felt that it was a terrible cliché thing for newlyweds to do, so they tried to at least visit some of the hotel's facilities, like the casino or one of the restaurants, but the farthest they got was to the elevator.

On the fourth day of their vacation, however, they gathered all their determination and made it to the beach. They walked hand in hand but without the photographer this time. There were deck-chairs placed out, but they had brought towels and sat on them again, enjoying a little picnic the kitchen had provided. There were a few other guests, mostly couples, but also a few families around, and they got a few curious glances. All seemed friendly, though.

After a while a group of three young kids playing with a Frisbee lost control of it, and, because picnic baskets attracted Frisbees and balls like a magnet, it landed in theirs.

Robin, wearing his sunglasses instead of his mask, smirked as he watched the kids and the ancient, almost silent ritual of 'go get it! No, you go get it! Coward! Go yourself!', involving a lot of shuffling and pushing as well as angry hissing. After a while one of the boys obviously lost, because he slunk forwards.

"Err… Sir? Sorry about the Frisbee… may we have it back?" he asked with an American accent.

The boy had turned to Robin, because Slade probably looked too scary.

"Sure you can," Robin chuckled and handed it over. "Just be a little more careful, okay?"

"Yes Sir!" the boy smiled.

Robin snorted at the 'sir', feeling very old at eighteen, and expected the boy to go, but there was another small cough.

"Err… sir? Mum said… Is it true you're… err... newlyweds?"

Robin blinked. He had thought that maybe the boy had gotten wind of the fact that he was a hero, but, no, it seemed other kinds of gossip were more interesting.

"Yeah. This is Mr. Wilson, and I'm Robin," the teen said, trying to make Slade feel as an old man too.

"Cool. I'm Max… gotta go! Oh, mum was thinking of asking you to have dinner with us one night."

"That sounds nice, if she sees us around she could-"

"MUM! THEY SAID YES!" young Max hollered towards a couple further down the beach. The woman seemed like she was trying to pull her sunhat down to her feet and hide in it.

Robin laughed and waved.

Max returned to his friends and the group whispered with each other before bending down and scribbling something in the sand. They then looked over at Slade and Robin, laughed cheekily and ran away towards the couple down the beach.

"Brothers," Slade said. "How much do you want to bet that their mum sent them here to try to find a reason to talk to us?"

"Not _everyone_ is an evil mastermind, but this time I think you are right…" Robin smirked.

"And you fell for the trap," Slade snorted.

"But I _like_ to fall for evil masterminds traps!" Robin pouted. "That's how I got to know you!"

"That's how you got to_ loathe_ me…" Slade corrected him with a chuckle. "Are you as curious as I am about what they wrote?"

"Yes! Now I won't feel foolish for running over there and checking," Robin smiled.

"Go look foolish and then tell me what it said," Slade ordered.

"Nope. But if you come with me I'll give you a kiss for the trouble?" Robin tempted.

"Sold," Slade said and stood up, helping Robin to his feet.

They walked over and smiled as they looked down.

"'Wilson Loves Robin?' with a heart around it? Oh, these boys are really teasing experts…" Slade said dryly.

"Come on, they are in the pig-tail-pulling 'sitting-in-a-tree'-taunting age…" Robin laughed. "For them, this is real roasting…"

"It's true though," the man admitted.

Robin looked up at him, eyes wide, and blinked slowly.

"Am I going to fast?" Slade asked after a moment of breathless silence.

"_Stop _asking that! No you're not! I just never expected… well… you to actually _say_…"

"I didn't say it," the man pointed out.

"Oh," Robin said as he was brought back to earth.

"I love you, Robin," Slade told him, and leaned forwards. "Now where is that kiss you promised?"

"I love you too…" Robin whispered right before their lips met.

When they found the need to breathe too great, they separated slightly and Robin looked fondly down onto the heart in the sand. He then started giggling.

"What's so funny?" Slade asked.

"Nothing. It's really stupid… must have been out in the sun for too long."

"Why?"

"Well… I just thought that if those kids had known a bit more about us…" Robin said. "Well… it could have read…" he stepped forwards and erased his own name, replacing it.

"'Slade loves Dick'?" Slade read as Robin folded over from giggles. "Now I'm starting to think the young men over there actually might be more mature than you."

"Told you it was silly," Robin snickered, before changing the word back, leaving the heart in the sand.

"_Still_ true, though… both interpretations included," Slade shrugged. "I love to touch it, to stroke it, to kiss it, to lick it, to suck it…"

"Shhh! You're making it hard! Stop it!" Robin hissed and hurried back to their towels so he could at least sit down. He opened the cooler and drank deeply from a bottle of water to try to cool down. He really wanted to pour it over himself, and especially a certain area, but that would be a little too obvious.

They had only sat down a few minutes when they heard a nervous little cough and looked up.

"I'm… sorry about my boys…" the woman in the sunhat said, standing before them, her blush almost beating Robin's record.

"Oh, they didn't bother us," The teen smiled. "Hi, I'm Robin," he said, holding his hand out.

* * *

"You just had to do that, did you"? Slade growled late that night. "You had to smile and introduce yourself and be friendly?"

"What? It was a nice dinner, wasn't it?" Robin grinned, knowing his husband had been going through hell all night.

"Did she _ever _shut up? Did he _ever _stop showing us pictures on his cell-phone? From now on I claim the screening-rights if we are ever going on a double date again."

"All right… they were a bit too much, but wait until we get home!" Robin warned him. "It will be ten times worse! But, to make it up to you, I promise to be _only yours_ for the rest of the trip."

"Not good enough. Try for the rest of our lives," Slade growled.

"If you meant that in general, it was very sweet…" Robin grinned.

"We'll see… haven't decided yet. You might be allowed to talk to some people. At least most women."

"You are so generous. The same goes for you. No… wait… nope, sorry," Robin decided. "It's me or no one."

The couple chuckled at their bad jokes for a moment ant then deiced to do something naughty in the jacuzzi.

* * *

"What do you mean I can't have them back?" the man stared at them.

"We are married. We decided to stay married. Are you saying you want our rings?" Robin asked the mayor innocently. They had barely set foot back in Jump before they were whisked off to a meeting.

"I wonder what the press would make of that?" Slade said in a just as innocent voice.

"But… but they are exclusive and-"

"Yes. Thank you," Robin grinned brightly.

"They _do_ fit us perfectly," Slade hummed, a smirk on his face.

"But… it wasn't supposed to be _real_!" the gold-toothed man obviously had some problems with sorting out his facts.

"Oh, you just arranged everything so perfectly, it just _became_ real!" Robin grinned and snuggled up to Slade.

"If this is a joke…"

"Joke? Us? Never," Slade smirked. "_We_ try to not jerk innocent people around…"

"No… that might end up costing us," Robin added. "We are not idiots."

* * *

A few minutes later they walked out of the office, both smirking. As they reached the street however, Robin drew a big breath.

"Well. No use in dragging it out… we have to go to the Tower and try to convince my team that I'm not brainwashed, drugged, or controlled in any other way," the teen said and started walking. The docks with the hidden bridge weren't that far, and why_ hurry_ towards one's doom?

"If the method for controlling this involves probing, I'm more than happy to help," Slade leered. At the glare from the teen however, he shrugged. "We did send the postcard."

"Yes… 'we're having fun, love Robin and Slade' must have got them wondering…" Robin snorted.

"Do you think it was a bit over the top that we chose a card of the Tunnel of Love?" Slade smirked.

"Definitely."

"Well, we didn't send that to Bruce at least…"

"No, but I think the one we _did _send, of the lighthouse, was bad enough since you draw an arrow pointing at the top, saying 'we did it here'," the teen growled.

"I was just being honest!" the man objected. "Honesty is very important in a relationship."

"I'm glad you feel that way, honey…" Robin said. He had stopped, now seeing the Tower, and, on the docks, waiting for them, were his team... plus one. "Because everything will soon become _very_ honest… Batman's here."

_The End_

* * *

A/N: nope, you get to figure out what will happen from now on all by yourselves! After 25 pages of fun and fluff I can't be expected to deal with a pissed, or happy, bat as well! ;)

The prompt sentence was: Wilson loves Dick, and yes, it made me snicker… maybe it wasn't _supposed_ to, but I'm childish, so it did….


	20. 20 The Princess and the Guardian Angel

Monday 20 December

Merry Christmas **Wildfire2**!

Quite some time ago, Wildfire2 gave me a great idea for a picture. I had all intentions of trying my hand at it- and then I forgot. Seriously, having one main writing-computer (my laptop) and one drawing one (my old one) has messed everything up, because it seems like I'm never at the right one, somehow… ;) Anyway now there's both a drabble and a pic! Read more in the last A/N.

Pairing: Slade/Robin

Universe: **Black Sheep** (this is the last of the three Black Sheep stories you've gotten/wished for among the X-mas drabbles, which means that Black Sheep 3 will start soon! ;) Or.. well… soon-ish? Not until after Christmas, though!

Warnings: nah.

**

* * *

**

The Princess and the Guardian Angel

They had been back in Jump for only two weeks when Slade saved Robin's life for the second, third or hundredth, time. Who was counting? Now he just needed for the damn teen to wake up so he could yell at him a bit.

His princess was currently sprawled on top of him. After Slade had carried him out from the alley he had taken him straight home to his apartment. After checking him over, the man couldn't find anything life threatening wrong with him, but a cut on the forehead and a nosebleed had made quite a mess of both of them. Slade had cleaned them up in the shower and now Robin was breathing against the man's chest, making Slade wish he hadn't been hurt so he could just wake him up.

As it was, however, he cradled Robin's head protectively, stroking a few strands of hair out of the young man's eyes. The rather soft look in Slade's face changed into an angry glare as he thought about the events earlier that night, that it was just a coincidence that he had heard something and decided to look into it… and how the guilty ones were going to pay.

Suddenly Robin stirred, mumbling a little and frowning.

"Damn, I'm sore… and not in a good way…" the teen muttered.

"You are lucky to be alive." Slade said, remembering that he was angry at his lover. As the young man's eyes opened a crack to glance up at him, some of the irritation magically disappeared. Robin had an amazing ability when it came to doing things like that, and if Slade ever found out how he did it… well, he ought to be able to develop some kind of protection, the man figured.

"Hi." Robin whispered.

"I don't speak to idiots." Slade snorted, deciding to be childish.

"You talk to yourself all the time." Robin smirked, and then winced. "Do I have a cut lip?"

"Oh, yes, you look like you've had a twenty dollar lip-surgery." Slade said smugly. "As well as badly applied makeup. Actually, you remind me a bit of Raven on a bad day."

"Ow, don't let her hear you say that… she'll rip you apart." Robin chuckled and groaned as he was trying to find some leverage on Slade's chest to sit up. "How the fuck did this happen? There were only seven of them!"

"Eight. One was hiding behind the dumpster. I came around the corner just as he knocked you on the back of the head." Slade told him.

"With what?" Robin asked and gingerly touched a quite tender bump. "The Washington Monument?"

"I think it was a leg from a broken table. You are lucky that's _all_ he appeared to have found behind that dumpster… if he had had a baseball bat…" Slade told him seriously.

"Thanks."

"Actually, I should have _helped _them." the man muttered. "What the hell did you think you were _doing_, taking on a biker-gang?"

"I do that all the time!" Robin snorted, gave up the attempt to get up and sank down on top of the man again, getting comfortable and giving a little content sigh.  
"I've been away for two long periods of time now; I needed to reestablish my dominance… something _you_ should be very familiar with." Slade didn't miss the little teasing smirk.

"Yes, but I'm _good _at it." the man smirked back. "All _you _have established is that you can get your ass handed to you by anyone with a piece of furniture." Slade said dryly.

"Well, just give me a few minutes and I'll rectify that." Robin growled.

"If you can get to them before I do, then congratulations." the man told him.

Robin tensed and finally managed to sit up, straddling Slade's hips.

"We're both naked." the teen noted.

"At least the blow didn't ruin your deductive skills… although the observation came a bit late." Slade snorted. "As to why, I didn't try to take advantage of you. I merely ripped your clothes off, took a steamy shower with you and got you into bed with me while you were unconscious." Slade told him.

"Nothing unusual then." Robin shrugged.

"Exactly." The man grinned.

"Well… so what to _do_ as we are both naked and I'm on top of you?" Robin asked innocently and wriggled a little bit.

"Nothing. You are to rest. You might have a concussion." Slade said warningly.

"I also have to try to keep you here so you won't go on a slaughter-run, and I can't do that while I'm napping." Robin smirked. "Oh, did you call my team?"

"Yes."

"Good, what did you tell them?"

"That you've been an idiot and I was going to make sure to let you know that." The man chuckled. "I have their full support."

"Noted." Robin muttered and rolled his eyes. "But your way of 'fixing' this won't be any help. I will have to arrest you and then go without sex for the next fifty or so years, and be all cranky."

"And you have never heard of conjugal visits?" Slade asked.

"I can't visit jail with _this_!" Robin said, caressing his own ass with both hands. "There will be a riot!"

"Someone is a bit full of himself…" the man smirked.

"I know, but I also know that you are working on it…" Robin winked down at him.

"That's my bitchy little princess…" Slade smiled.

"Watch it." the teen growled. "I can do some harm from here."

"I'd prefer if that harm was done to a certain motorcycle-gang." Slade muttered.

"Me too." the teen said and leaned forwards, grabbing the man's shoulders. "You can come, but you will just watch."

"I'm confused, are we talking sex or revenge?" Slade asked.

Robin seemed to think things over.

"Revenge first, sex later."

"Normally I would say that you have got your priorities wrong, but I agree."

"Good. Let's go. Remember, you're my protection, my back up, nothing else."

"Are you really well enough?"

"If I can stand, I'm good to go." Robin snorted and got to his feet.

"Again… are we talking sex or revenge?" Slade chuckled and followed him to the closet where the teen kept a few extra uniforms and clothes.

"Still the revenge, I'm afraid. I'll give you a clue when we get to the sex-part." Robin promised.

"What kind of a clue?" Slade asked curiously.

"Since you are somewhat dense, I guess I'll pull down my trousers and bend over something." Robin laughed.

"I think I'll be able to interpret that correctly." the man deadpanned.

* * *

"Robin! Are you okay, man?" Cyborg asked and stood up from the sofa as the teen walked in, a few hours later, followed by Slade. "Damn, how stupid _were_ you?" he added, looking at his leader's scrapes and bruises.

"All you need to know is that I took care of it." the teen said smugly.

"That he did. And now he's going to bed." Slade informed the rest of the team, who were gathering around them now.

The Titans weren't rejected that easily, though, and followed them to Robin's room, asking questions along the way. Slade at least managed to keep them from going inside the room by simply blocking the door with his body.

"But don't you at least want me to look at your injuries, Robin?" Raven called to her leader as he had disappeared from sight.

Slade turned his head to catch Robin's eye, as this seemed like a good idea, but he turned back to the team grinning.

"Not right now."

"That's not up to you, that's up to Robin!" Cyborg growled.

"He says later. Trust me. We have a signal-system." The man smirked and closed the door in their faces.

_The End_

* * *

A/N: Damn, no smex in this either? Well, I did give you that the other day, and masses of fluff yester day, so... I don't want you to OD. And you have the pic to go look at now as well, so visit my Deviant Art account by clicking on my bio, and then "homepage". My username there is "wynjas".

The prompt word for this was "Protection". She also described the first scene in detail, and I tried to use as much of that description as possible.


	21. 21 Deserving This

Tuesday 21 December

Merry Christmas** cadillacslim3**!

Freestanding universe

Slade/Robin

Warning: Nah… just a little smexiness… or rather a little PWP ;) A hint of flangst (fluff/angst) but only a very small one.

I'll tell you the prompt in the bottom A/N as usual.

**

* * *

**

Deserving **This**

"Robin, you coming, man?" Cyborg asked from the car.

"Nah, I need some air. I'll see you at home." Robin answered.

"Do you wish for me to be in your company?" Starfire asked, sounding a little worried.

"Come on, Star, even _I_ know that 'need some air' is Robin talk for 'back off, I need some me-time.'" Beast Boy exclaimed.

"Oh." the redhead mumbled and looked sad.

"Don't listen to him, Starfire, I really just need to stretch my legs. Why don't you guys set up for a movie night back at the Tower, to celebrate, and I'll be back in two hours or so?" Robin said.

"With pizza?" Beast Boy asked.

"Sure." Robin grinned, his fake grin was starting to slide. He met Raven's eyes, and, though she didn't say anything, she gave him a short nod. "See you!" Robin called out and aimed his grapple hook at the closest building.

* * *

He winced as he let himself be lifted into the air He had gotten quite a few scrapes during the fight, but that wasn't what was bothering. It was the fact that it had been with Slade.

Robin stopped on a roof a few blocks away and took a couple of deep breaths.

"Sulking, Robin? Really?" a voice said behind him, and the teen whipped around, his steel-clad boot crashing into Slade's middle. The man quickly regained his composure, however, and the fight soon ended with Robin being pinned to the wall by the man's bo-staff.

"What's this? Have you tired of our little agreement?" Slade growled.

"I can't do this anymore!" Robin hissed.

"On the contrary. Your fighting skills have improved since we started seeing each other 'outside the office' so to speak." Slade told him sternly. "You know that, so what's this really about?"

"I don't want to fight you." Robin growled.

"I'm fine with that. Next time that alarm goes off, just take a nap." The man smirked. Robin could see the flash of white teeth through the holes in the mask. It was strange, the amount of detail he could make out now, just because he knew it was there… Before he had barely seen the man's eye, but now even the bluish-grey of the iris stood out to him.

"It's not funny." Robin muttered.

"We agreed." Slade reminded him. "We will both continue to live our own lives, no questions asked." The man let Robin go and retracted his bo-staff before stepping away a little bit to give the teen some room to breathe.

Robin sighed and walked over to the edge of the roof.

"It was simpler before." he said. "Now everything is so… blurry."

"I know." Slade said quietly and reached out to touch the teen's arm. When Robin flinched Slade first felt almost insulted until he saw the blood.

"You're hurt."

"It's just a scratch. You threw me into those crates, remember?"

"Well, you were stubborn." the man smiled. "Come with me. I have a place close by."

"I'll be fine." Robin shrugged.

"Not if you keep refusing to listen to your betters." the villain chuckled. "Follow me or I'll carry you. Your choice."

* * *

Robin knew from experience that Slade wasn't kidding, so he _did_ follow. They ended up on the top floor of what looked like a rather posh building.

"Home sweet home." Slade said and gestured to the single room with the open-plan kitchen. It was fully furnished, and Robin was somewhat surprised at the bright colors.

"The third I've seen so far." Robin smirked. "How many more are there?"

"Ah-ah-ah, Robin, no asking about each other's secrets." Slade taunted him.

"Well, since you apparently are very bad at keeping yours, I thought you might just tell me everything." the teen chuckled.

"I might not have planned to show you more than one place, but proximity is sometimes of the essence." the man admitted.

"What you are saying is that if you're horny you'd rather take me to the closest bed?" Robin snorted with a chuckle.

"Yes. And take you _in_ the closest bed, but that's in a moment, first take off your shirt and let me look at that wound."

* * *

Robin shook his head in exhaustion. There was no arguing with the man when he became overprotective, even if it was Slade_ himself_ who had caused the whole thing.

He started to undress, hanging his cape, gloves, belt and top over a chair. Slade came back with a small box with a medical cross-symbol on it and put it on the bed. The man had taken off his mask, and Robin did as well. His stomach still did a little excited flip when he did this; he had become so used to being masked that he felt naked without it.

"Sit." Slade ordered and pointed to the bed.

"I question your intentions, sir." Robin smirked as he complied. The mattress was soft and had a pale blue satin bed cover which felt nice and cool against his hands.

"You may question them all you like, as long as you don't object to them." The man smirked back.

"Oh, I would never do_ that_." Robin gasped theatrically.

"Good boy." Slade nodded. "Now, let's see what you have managed to do…" The man grabbed Robin's arm and lifted it up and forwards. Robin had hit the crates shoulder first and they had been old and rotten enough to break apart. The result was a long, jagged wound on the back of the arm, just below the shoulder.

"Ouch." Robin growled.

"It's not deep, but you have several splinters. Sit still. This may hurt a bit."

"The last time you told me that was when you took my virginity… and it was a lie then too." Robin snorted, earning a low laugh from Slade.

"You liked it soon enough."

"Yeah, but it was still a lie."

"I apologize. Sit still, because this will sting like hell." Slade amended.

"I'm not sure honesty is much better, actually." Robin admitted. "Ah-Ouch!"

"That's the first one."

"Well the fact that we stopped you almost makes this worth it." Robin said, looking back at his lover with a smirk. "AOOOW! You did that on purpose!"

"Did you _stop_ me on purpose?" Slade asked sweetly.

"Of course we did!"

"Well, then, we're even." the man decided. "Or wait… we're not… there's still the _rule_."

"Just to let you know, I made up that rule because I lost last time." Robin snorted.

"Yes, and it's a very good one, don't you think?"

"Shouldn't I get some sympathy here? I'm hurt!" Robin tried, before hissing through his teeth as Slade removed another fragment.

"No. I lost, so I call the shots in bed." the man let him know. "There. That's all of the debris."

"Good." Robin muttered.

"Time for the Hydrogen Peroxide." the man let him know.

"Pass!" the teen called out and stood up. He was, however, immediately pulled down on the bed again.

"It's an ugly wound and it's all I have. Just be a brave little bird. Now, you've had all your shots, I assume?"

"Yes." Robin muttered and then stopped breathing for a while, as the horrible disinfectant did its job. It stung, but it wasn't too bad, really. His eyes didn't even overflow.

"My brave hero." Slade chuckled and kissed his neck. Robin shivered in delight and suddenly couldn't wait to get to the next part of their little get-together. He had to sit patiently for a while longer, however, as Slade patched him up. "There. Don't forget to think up an explanation for this when you get home." the man reminded him.

"I'll just say I stopped by the clinic." Robin shrugged.

"Good… now let's give you a limp to complete the picture." the man grinned.

* * *

"Mmm…" Robin sighed. He was on his stomach, completely naked, enjoying the man's hands travelling over his body. "Wasn't _I_ supposed to carter to _you_?" he asked.

"Are you complaining?" the man asked amusedly.

"Hell no." Robin sighed. Slade had cleaned up his other little scrapes, but none of them had been nearly as big as the one on his arm, and the act was more or less just foreplay. "Oh, you're so good…" he moaned and closed his eyes as the man started to massage his back.

"I know…but I don't mind hearing it." Slade chuckled and let his hands caress the teen's ass. "Really, Robin, even if they made a bronze statue of you, I doubt its ass would be this firm."

It was the teen's turn to chuckle.

"Flatterer. I think I might just let you do some rather nasty things to me if you keep that up."

"Oh, it's _up_." Slade told him, making Robin burst out in another laugh before spreading his legs.

"Well, then… what are you waiting for?"

"You have much to learn about romance, Robin." Slade snorted, but still slid on top of him, grinding himself against Robin's ass.

"You can be romantic this weekend, but I have a movie night to get home to." Robin grinned, and then turned over, giving Slade an apologetic look. "I'll make something up… I'd like to spend a whole night with you…"

"I wouldn't mind that." the man admitted.

"Yeah and there's not like you have anything better to do. The warehouse you tried to break into tonight will be closely guarded by the owners for at least a month, and I will soon figure out what it was you wanted to steal…" the teen said smugly.

"Well…" Slade gave him a quick, teasing kiss, "what I wanted wasn't in that building. And I got it." he grinned.

Robin blinked once before he understood what the man meant.

"What… you… triggered the alarm?"

"Of course. Did you think I'd lost my touch? I could steal everything from that place without even the dogs being able to detect me." the man snorted.

"You lost on purpose too?" Robin growled.

"No. I'd never do that to you. You and your team won tonight… but I'd like to think that I still got the prize." The villain smirked and kissed the teen's neck this time.

Robin's face softened. He believed the man. It hadn't felt like Slade had been holding back at all, thank god, or Robin would have felt insulted.

"Well… alright. I forgive you." the teen said and pulled the man down for some serious kissing. "Now, if you don't hurry, that limp you promised will be from blue balls. I really can't stay much longer."

"You are not in a hurry, you're just horny." Slade smirked.

"Guilty." Robin chuckled, but then his communicator started ringing. "Damn!" he hissed and wriggled out from under the man. He answered the call without flipping it open to turn the screen on. "Robin here."

"Hi, man, what's up? BB's claiming to starve to death here." Cyborg said. "And what's with the black screen?"

"Decency. I discovered that I had hurt my arm. It's just a scratch, but I'm at the clinic to clean it up. I'm almost done, though. I'll pick up the pizzas and be home in… a little over half an hour. Think you can keep the little monster alive until then?"

"Hey!" Beast Boy's indignant voice could be heard in the background.

"Sure, man. Damn, I didn't know you were hurt!" his second in command said apologetically.

"Me neither. I didn't feel it until the adrenaline wore off." Robin chuckled. "See you in a bit."

"Sure! And buy the extra large specials. It's not every day we kick Slade's butt like that!" Cyborg snickered.

"It's really not. We better enjoy it." Robin smirked with a glance at the man, who was looking somewhat sullen, a look that didn't quite match up with the fact that he was stroking himself, covering his length in a clear lubricant. The teen climbed back into bed and straddled him. "See you, Cy. Robin out." he said and turned off the communicator. "And Slade in…" he added with a naughty grin.

"Well, as you beg so prettily." the man snorted and slid a hand between Robin's legs. His long, thick fingers soon found the teen's entrance and pushed rather easily inside as they were still covered in lube.

"Mm… how… how do you want do fuck me?" Robin gasped.

"Hard and fast." Slade purred and turned them both over.

"Please do…" Robin grinned.

The man didn't bother with more preparation. Robin wouldn't want to be late, so he had only himself to blame, really. Not that he minded. Robin tensed up as much as he could as Slade started to push against him, and then relaxed completely. It was a little trick he had learned and it worked now as well, as the head of the man's cock slid inside him.

He gasped. It was still a new feeling; the first time had been only a few weeks ago. Robin still couldn't quite understand how it had happened. A million little steps had brought them together on that rooftop, leading to a hard, thin madras in an abandoned house half an hour later. It was crazy, but then again, his whole life was, Robin figured, so why not? It made him feel good, it brought some kind of_ safe_ excitement into his life, and, after Slade had told him that he had know his identity for years, even that worry was gone. The man was still dangerous, but they were usually quite good as separating business hours and play time. This was defiantly play time.

"Ah-ah-aah…." Robin gasped as the man started to move. Long slow thrusts and hard, short ones, mixed together until the man had found the pace and angle which made Robin's eyes roll back in his head and his spine arch. "Y-yes! Yes, right there! Ah!" the teen groaned. "N-now hold… hold me down and fuck me!"

It was a little kink of Robin's they had discovered together; he loved it when Slade dominated him completely by grabbing his wrists or arms so he couldn't move away from the punishing thrusts. Slade had smirked once and told him that he might as well tie him up, and Robin's groin had really liked the sound of that. It was too soon, however, he needed a lot more time to trust the man enough to let him do something like that. A grip he could fight his way out of, if needed be, but chains, or even ropes, might prove too much to him. Well... 'might', being the key word here.

Slade, however, liked this kink too. Being in control was exactly what he wanted to be, after all. He grabbed Robin's wrists and forced them over the teen's head, not minding the wince on Robin's face as he did so. He knew the teen could take more than a little pain, even though this must pull at his wound. The fact that Robin wasn't going soft at all, rather the other way around, told the truth. Switching his grip from two hands to one, Slade had one free to stroke Robin's length as he fucked him. By now the teen's legs were hugging his hips, and the man could balance on his knees without putting too much pressure on Robin's wrists.

Robin felt himself getting closer to his limit. If wouldn't take long with the man's rough hand working on him like that while his cock pummeled his ass, sending an overload of sensations up his spine, making him writher and gasp uncontrollably.

"I'm… I'm…" was the only warning he managed to give before crying out is release. Slade followed him with a grunt a few seconds later, while Robin still had not quite came down from his high.

"I hate that I have to go…" Robin complained.

"Well, if you insist I could kidnap you?" Slade suggested with a smirk.

"Yeah, well, it _is_ my turn to do the laundry…" Robin seemed to think things over.

"In that case I have to let you go. Chores build character." the man told him sternly.

"Didn't you complain just the other week that I had too _much_ of that?" Robin grinned.

"My demands of you are slightly overwhelming. How is that surprising?" the villain smirked and slowly moved off the teen, with one last kiss on the lips.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…" Robin muttered. "About this weekend… are you free?"

"Completely."

"Great. Saturday to Sunday then! By the way… can we stay here? Not that I mind the damp, moldy dark places you usually take me to, but…"

"Sure… the people who live here might be home, though." Slade leered and stretched out on his back.

"The… people… who…?" Robin stared at his lover.

"Yes… what, did you really think I would buy a blue satin bedspread?" Slade snorted. "And all these cheery colors? What kind of a detective _are_ you?"

"But… you… opened the door!" Robin objected.

"With my universal key, yes. I happen to have one for this building, that's why I took you here."

"But, you… ah, crap, the medicine box! Why would you have one, you heal too quickly to even bother with little cuts." Robin slammed his face down into the bed. "And this mattress is too soft."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure to get rid of the rats until this weekend." the man promised. "I'll even bring the bedspread if you like it." he added with a smirk.

"No deal, mister. I want to stay at a nice place… rent a hotel room if you can't find something else… and no breaking in!"

"You're spoiled." the man snorted.

Robin opened his mouth and then closed it again, He looked away from the man and then got to his feet, dressing hastily.

"And what did I say now?" Slade asked.

"Well, if you don't think I _deserve _better than a damp cellar…" Robin shrugged, snapping his cape on.

"Those places are safe. Well protected." Slade growled and then sighed, running a hand through his hair in a rare sign of defeat. "Of course you are worth better. I'll arrange something. I can't promise you a castle, though."

"I might accept some sort of smaller manor." Robins smirked.

"Go pick up those pizzas." the man muttered. Losing twice to the young hero in one day? Slade felt rather ashamed of himself. Well… at least there was still the weekend ahead to get even…

_The End._

* * *

The prompt here was: "This may hurt a bit" and other wishes were for Slade and Robin to be in character but in a mutual relationship… I TRIED to cut back on the sillier banter to try to keep them more in character, and tried not to make it too fluffy either, although it had to be a BIT fluffy as it was a relationship-fic… I wonder what one of those are like without any form of caring or softness? –shivers- I didn't get the feeling that the wisher wanted anything dark as those were the terms, so… hope you enjoyed it!


	22. 22 The Journey

Wednesday 22 December

Merry Christmas **Naunet Elvina Amunet**!

Well, today's wisher didn't only give me a prompt-word, but a prompt-_beginning_. I have marked it in italics below. The other wishes will be revealed in the bottom A/N.

Pairing: Sladin

Freestanding story

Genre: hurt/comfort, some flangst (fluff/angst), smex and romance

Warnings: LONG story, almost 30 pages! It is one of those that really got away with me…

**

* * *

**

The Journey

_The electric blue light flashed across the dashboard as the front of the car was crushed when it tumbled down the cliff, then blackness swallowed him._

Robin never really expected to wake up. In that brief moment after he had lost control until he couldn't remember anymore, he had, somehow, decided that this was it. He was going to die. And that was okay.

He opened his eyes slowly, squinting in the bright light from what almost looked like an industrial lamp above him.

"Where am I?" he mumbled, expecting a nurse to tell him which hospital or private clinic he had been taken to. As he had been out of uniform at the accident he might have been recognized… or someone could have looked in his wallet and checked his driver's license. Yeah… probably the last thing. Damn, that meant Bruce was probably around, ready to start yelling at him. Now… where was that nurse?

"Hello?" he managed after a small cough. Fuck, he hurt. _Everything_ hurt. Not only was this place understaffed, the morphine was not up to par either. Robin tired to raise his head to look around.

"Stay still."

The voice came from behind his head, either the head of his bed wasn't against a wall or there was a speaker placed there. Either way it was creepy and made Robin try to move even more until a heavy hand landed on his shoulder and pushed him down.

"Why do you never listen, Robin?"

This time the teen stilled, if only from shock, as he recognized the voice.

"Where am I? Who are you?" he asked, while trying to catch a glimpse of the man. The person must have decided to make life easier on him, because he rounded the bed and stood by his side, checking a drip which was going into Robin's arm.

"You already know who I am and about this location… it's unimportant."

"Like hell it's unimportant!" Robin growled. "You'll let me go right now, Slade or-"

"Of course you can go. I think watching you walking away on two broken legs and with a possible spine-injury will be quite entertaining." the man smirked. "Stay still, or I'll sedate you."

Robin glared at the man. He had seen Slade without his mask before, once or twice, they had struck up this very strange truce of sorts almost two years ago. Robin remembered the day it had started perfectly, as it had been his sixteenth birthday. He had withdrawn from his team, as he usually did on personal days like these. Slade had found him, sitting on the edge of a roof, staring at nothing. The man must have watched him for quite some time, and by the way he made his presence known, well… the _fact_ that he made his presence known, told Robin that he hadn't planned on attacking. They exchanged a few words and that was pretty much it. Until next time. And the time after that. The man didn't seem to work at all in Jump from then on, though Robin caught a few reports from different states and even foreign countries, which had Slade written all over them. He never discussed it with the man, however. It was probably a breach of several hero-rules, but Robin decided that as long as the merc wasn't causing any mayhem in _his_ city, he'd just turn a blind eye. For now.

All this passed through the hero's mind in an instant, and then he remembered something rather important. He had seen Slade without his mask, but Slade had damn well never seen _him_. And, as he was driving as Dick Grayson when he crashed, in one of Bruce's cars, even, he very much doubted he had somehow changed into uniform on the way down the mountainside.

He closed his eyes briefly.

"Are you feeling dizzy? Nauseous?" Slade asked.

"No." Robin mumbled… "I just… so you know who I am?"

"Of course." the man said in a condescending tone that Robin really thought shouldn't be allowed to be used around injured people.

"Great." he muttered. He glanced at the man who seemed busy studying some charts or something, Robin could only see as much as that. "Care to tell me how I got here?"

"Drunk driving."

"I wasn't drunk!" Robin yelled, trying to sit up again, until he was stopped once more by Slade's hand.

"That's not what the blood test says." the man told him flatly. "You would you like to call it something else? Intoxicated? Under the influence? Smashed? Sloshed?"

"I was fine!" the teen growled.

"So they all say."

"Well, shut the hell up! Who do you think you are? My father?" Robin was yelling again, his voice slightly high.

"Heaven forbid." the man muttered. "I _do _believe this might be about him, however, or rather, both your parents… Isn't that right Robin?"

"Shut up!"

"Talk to me, or I'll send the lab results to Batman." the man told him.

Robin gaped for a moment before closing his mouth with a snap. Slade wouldn't? Would he? And anyway…

"How did you even know I was here?" the teen asked a bit tiredly.

"I followed you, of course."

"All the way to Gotham?"

"I'm devoted."

Robin blinked. He could never figure out when Slade was serious of joking, or even_ if_ the man joked. _Ever_. It didn't even get easier _without_ the mask.

"People will come looking for me."

"You told Bruce and your team that you needed some time alone and were going do drive across the county back to Jump. You crashed just outside of Gotham. You won't be missed quite yet."

"You bugged my phone?" Robin snarled.

"Yes, and your communicator. The bugs also work as trackers, by the way."

"Fantastic." Robin muttered dryly.

"I know."

"I was being sarcastic." the teen pointed out.

"I know that too." Slade said, yet again with a straight face.

"Fuck off."

"Tempting, but I've decided to stick around until you can at least hobble out of here. By the way, say thank you." the man suggested.

"Excuse me?"

"No, '_thank you'_." Slade clarified.

"You are so funny." Robin snorted.

"I know, but those aren't the words I wanted to hear, now, were they? I wonder if you have brain damage?"

"Why should I thank you?"

"Well… you _are _alive." Slade pointed out.

"Again, why should I thank you"? Robin mumbled and looked away.

"You are not suicidal, Robin. You are depressed. It was the day your parents died. Yes, I know that too, don't look so insulted. You visited their graves, you decided you needed to be alone… so far so good, but then you decided you needed to be alone at a _bar_. Maybe the brain damage occurred before the accident…" Slade seemed to realize and looked down on the chart again.

"I… okay, I had a few drinks… they shouldn't even be _serving_ me-"

"No excuses, Robin." the man cut him off.

"I thought I was fine! I _was_ fine!"

"You were not much over the limit, but that still means that your reaction-time was lowered. The darkness, the rain and the winding road did the rest. When I pulled you out of the wreak I was almost certain that you were dead." the man's voice had turned even more serious.

"Oh." Robin whispered. He swallowed and added a weak "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now let's see if your stupidity has made you a cripple, shall we?"

"OW!"

"You felt that?"

"You stabbed my toe with a needle, of_ course_ I fucking felt it!" Robin growled.

"That's good news. Let's try again." the man just noted and went on check all Robin's toes as well as his legs, hands and arms.

"Please, I'm fine. Stop the torture." Robin growled after a while.

"Don't insult me. If I intended to torture you, you would be spilling your darkest secrets to me right now." the man smirked. This time Robin was somewhat sure it was a joke. At least he hoped it was.

"Very funny."

"Not for you." the man shrugged.

Robin snorted and stared at the lamp above until his eyes teared up. Yeah. The lamp was to blame.

"So… I'm okay?"

"Two broken legs, remember?" Slade told him. "There are many other cuts and bruises, and there might be more fractures, but nothing life threatening. You were _incredibly_ lucky."

"Okay." Robin said quietly. He had done such a stupid, dangerous thing, not only to himself, but he had endangered other people as well. He couldn't believe he had been so foolish. He very rarely drank at all, apart from the odd glass of wine at Bruce's, and only with dinner. Sure, he had had the teenage 'have-to-find-out -what-all-the-fuss-is-about' drinking experience about two years back, followed by 'I'm-gonna-die-why-the-hell-did-I-do-that-for?-hangover. After that he had stayed clear of the stuff, until, apparently, today… or yesterday… or whenever day it was.

"I'm sorry." he mumbled, not really sure why. It wasn't like he needed to apologize to_ Slade_ of all people, or needed his forgiveness.

"You should be." the man told him. "Now, does it hurt when I do this?"

It did.

* * *

"Then take me to a hospital!" Robin shouted. He had been pinched and prodded all over while trying to make the man see reason. "You can't keep me here, it's kidnapping!"

"And?" Slade shrugged. "I _am_ a criminal, after all."

"Is this a new, twisted way of making me join you?" Robin growled. "I won't! Did I really have that much alcohol in my blood? Did I really crash the car? Are my legs really broken, or did you fake everything with one of your little dust-inventions or something?"

"Clever, Robin. I could have, but no. And about you joining me… I thought we already had that discussion?"

"Just because you _said_ you'd given up on that idea, doesn't mean it's _true_." Robin glared at the man.

"I'm aware of that, but I didn't lie to you." the man sounded like he was talking to a four-year old, something which definitely rubbed Robin the wrong way.

"Then why am I still here?" Robin asked. He got a little worried when Slade smirked at him.

"I was under the impression that Bruce finding out about the drunk driving would be a bad thing?" the man said innocently.

"Yes, but-"

"I suspect he might even decide you shouldn't be allowed to lead your own team any more… and if _they _found out… would they _want_ you as a leader?"

If looks could kill Slade's body would be beginning to cool at that moment.

"So that's the deal? If I try to go back, you'll tell them?" Robin said darkly.

Slade chuckled and shook his head.

"You don't trust me very much, do you?" he smirked.

"No, I'm not a _complete_ idiot… except for the drinking thing." Robin added, because that _had_ been bad.

"Well, you will just have to learn to trust me, then. You're not going anywhere and you would be helpless without me. Besides… I'm doing you a favor."

"You are? Funny, I didn't think kidnapping belonged in that category." Robin muttered. He had been holding his head up a little bit, after getting the all clear from Slade earlier, but now it fell back against the thin pillow. He was so tired and his whole body throbbed. A cool hand settled on his forehead.

"I think you are running a bit of a fever. Don't worry, it's perfectly normal." Slade told him. "I'll get you some Ibuprofen and a glass of water."

"Great. Why not get me some more heavy duty pain-meds too while you're at it?" Robin muttered.

"Because if you get enough of those, you might actually try to escape." Slade told him. "I know you. You can be so stubborn it looks more like pure stupidity."

"Bastard."

"Thank you."

* * *

As the man left, Robin looked around the room for the first time. It wasn't big felt even smaller as it was completely windowless.

_Great… I won't feel __claustrophobic at ALL here…_ he thought irritably. The walls were white, or rather the light grey color that white walls turn into when they haven't been painted for a while. It looked very much like a storage room, and Robin wondered if he should consider himself a can of spam at the moment. He figured, however, that he couldn't ask for much more, since this was better than lying dead at the bottom of a hill.

Slade soon returned and held Robin up just enough for him to swallow the pills with the water. Leaning on the man's arm and chest like that made the teen's cheeks redden, but no matter how much he hated it, he didn't have a choice at the moment.

"They will find out what happened anyway." he said resignedly as Slade put him back down. "It's only a matter of time."

"Not if we go with my plan." Slade told him.

"What plan?" Robin frowned

"You will need to try that trust-thing…" the man warned him with a little grin. "I, on the other hand, need to trust _you_ as well."

"I like the sound of that last part." Robin admitted with a small grin of his own.

"I thought you would."

"So… what's the plan?"

Slade bent down to get something from under the bed, which was, Robin had discovered by now, a typical hospital bed. He gasped and stared at the man pulled out a few items and put them on his stomach.

"My… my communicator? And cell phone?"

"Yes. You will call your team and Bruce and tell them that you are taking your time back home and not to expect you for about three months."

"Three_ months_?" Robin exclaimed.

"As the bones in the leg supports your body-weigh it takes ten to twenty-four weeks for them to heal. Three months should be enough for you and for getting you into a bit of shape again, as you are still young." Slade told him. "You are lucky, the x-rays show that the breaks are very clean and the bones were easy to set."

"X-rays?" Robin asked but then let the fact that the man had access to that technology go. He probably had an MRI and a CT-scanner stacked away somewhere as well. "No matter… the car does, though. I crashed it."

"It was Bruce's, correct?"

"Yeah, don't remind me."

"A favorite of his?"

"No, just a back-up one, Alfred uses it for errands and stuff sometimes when his regular one is in the shop." Robin answered wondering why the hell that was important.

"Good, that means none of them knows every scratch and bump on it." Slade said thoughtfully.

"I think what did to it go slightly _beyond_ scratches and bumps…" Robin snorted.

"Oh, yes, the thing is totaled." Slade nodded.

"Then _why_-?" Robin started, but was cut off.

"It is taken care of and being recycled as we speak. I have secured a car of the same model and color and switched the license plates. I also changed the Vehicle Identification Number, so even if the car is sold or stolen in the future, no one will know the difference."

"Okay. Wow." Robin stared at the man, feeling more than a little confused. "Sooo… I take a cover-up road tip, while really I'm healing, and I get to Jump, on schedule, no one suspects a thing and I just resume my life?"

"Yes."

"A very good plan… just one flaw, though…" Robin said.

"And that is…?"

"What do _you_ get out of it?"

"Other than handling your bedpan?" the man smirked.

"My wha- oh, no…" Robin paled. "Come on, I can still go to the bathroom, my legs aren't _that_ broken, are they?"

"I'm afraid they are." the man snorted. "You have a catheter now, but-"

"You put a_ catheter_… in… in my-?"

"It wouldn't be much use in your _ear_." Slade pointed out.

"You better not have looked!" Robin blurted out before he was able to stop himself.

"No, I had my eye closed the whole time." Slade said dryly. "Considering you emptied your bladder just before or after the accident-"

"I... I _wet_ myself?" Robin groaned.

"Nothing to be ashamed of. It's a natural bodily function. The bladder and bowel empties themselves to reduce-"

"I pissed _and _crapped myself?"

"Well, yes."

"Kill me now."

"I have a feeling it's not me you are feeling sorry about…" The man snorted. "What if I add that you became conscious for a few short seconds, and then you managed to throw up all over me as well? Just as I pulled you out, by the way."

"I should have just left me by the road to die." Robin muttered.

"Believe me, if it had been anyone else, I wouldn't even have slowed down." Slade smirked, or maybe smiled, down at him.

Robin blinked. Slade had done things for him,_ to_ him, he didn't even want to think about, but the man had done them for Robin's sake, not his own, as the teen doubted that the man had any of those kinks… hopefully. Either way, it was embarrassing, but it must have been worse for Slade, after all… Robin managed a weak smile.

"Thanks."

"Make the calls." Slade answered and moved away to give him some sense of privacy.

* * *

Robin decided to call Bruce first.

"What time is it?" he asked Slade before dialing.

"Almost five PM. The accident was last night at around one-thirty."

"Kay, thanks." Robin said and chose Bruce's work number. "Hi, Bruce, it's me. Yeah, I know, but it's important… can I borrow the car for longer than a few days?" Robin glanced over at Slade. "For about three months. No, I've decided on a road trip… gonna see America, you know… do something a little more normal for a while and not fight mountains of poisonous goo." Robin gave a weak chuckle. "No, the truth is… I need some time to think, Bruce… the future, what I really want… I'll turn eighteen in a few weeks, you know… no, not seventeen. No, I'm _sure_." Robin laughed for real now. "It's okay then? No, I promise you'll have the car back... as good as new…" Robin smirked and glanced at Slade again, who shrugged and smirked back. "Okay, great. I'll call the team now, but could you ask the JL to cover them if they need it? Thank you… Tell Al I said hi, and Bruce… love you both. Thanks. Bye." Robin hung up and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

"Do you want to contact your team now or would you like to rest a little first?" Slade asked, back at his side.

Robin grinned a little, keeping his eyes closed.

"I'm just taking a moment… I almost never lie to him."

"Well, do you ever _tell_ him anything?" Slade asked.

"That was unfair."

"Hardly." Slade snorted. "But that discussion was a dead end last time too, so let's not go down that path."

"Let's not." Robin decided. "Okay, calling my… fuck…"

"Your boyfriend?" the man smirked.

"What? No! What!" Robin spluttered. "No, idiot, I just realized that I need my mask, and that's still in the-"

"In this?" Slade asked and lifted a suitcase from the floor. "I emptied the vehicle before I destroyed it. Clever me." the man grinned. Robin was almost sure he was joking _this_ time. "What's the code?" the man asked, preparing to open the combination-lock on the steel-reinforced case.

"Errr… nine-nine-nine-nine…" Robin looked ashamed.

"The factory combination? For shame, Robin…" the man tsked.

"It's new, I haven't had time to change it!" Robin defended himself.

"You're young. You'll learn." the man said in an airy sort of way.

"Oh, shut up, you condescending jerk." the teen snorted, but couldn't hold back a chuckle.

Slade smirked and handed him a mask from the case.

Robin put it on and called his team. The conversation went pretty much the same as with Bruce. They were worried, but gave their leader the space he needed, claiming that postponing the birthday-party only gave them more time to come up with something 'totally, mind blasting awesome' as Cyborg put it. Robin hoped he would be well rested by the time he came home.

* * *

"There. Done." Robin said as he closed the communicator.

"Good. Now stay still-" Slade told him.

"Ouch! Why the hell did you rip my mask off?" Robin growled massaging his stinging skin.

"Always wanted to do it." Slade shrugged.

"Yeah, I'm here to help you live out all your fantasies…" Robin muttered and then blushed terribly as he realized what he had just said.

"How delightful." the man leered. "Might take a bit longer than three months, but at least we can get started."

"Great. Looking forwards to it." the hero muttered.

"That's the spirit. Now, do you want to see the x-rays?"

* * *

Robin did, of course, and so he found out that his right Tibia and left Fibula had been broken.

"That's great, I should be able to support myself on my left leg pretty soon, then, right?" he said. "And as both bones are in the lower part of the leg I should be able to use a wheelchair, right?"

"A wheelchair? This is a temporary emergency room, not a fully stocked hospital." Slade said.

"You can find a doppelganger for a car in a matter of hours, but not a wheel-chair? Pathetic." Robin snorted.

"It's still not too late to drive you back and dump you in the ditch." Slade let him know.

"Well, I have a feeling I'll be begging you to take me in a while…" Robin muttered. "Take me _there_! There! To the ditch!" he amended a second later.

"Ah, the joys of a Freudian slip…" the man smirked. "I'm sorry to say that you are not nearly up for that kind of activity just yet. You should try to get some sleep. If you need anything, push this button." the man told him and showed him the alarm which was placed well within reach on a small bedside table next to him, along with the rest a glass of water.

"What about these? Going to hide them now?" Robin asked dryly and indicated his phone and communicator which were still on his stomach.

"Of course not, you better make sure to answer if you get a call, but be vague about where you are and what you are doing… I'll get you a planned out travel-route complete with destination-points later."

"You are thorough." the teen said. "I'm a little impressed again."

"Thank you." the man snorted softly. "Now sleep."

* * *

Robin tried, and eventually he managed to doze off for a while, but soon he was wide awake once more. He glanced at the button and sighed. The man had given it to him, so Slade had only himself to blame.

It took only a few moments before Slade appeared in the door.

"Yes?"

"It hurts… my whole damn body… don't you have anything stronger?" the teen asked, trying not to sound pitiful.

"Well, you are rather black and blue. I can give you something which will help you sleep." the man offered.

"Yeah, like having you drug me is something I want to do…" the teen muttered.

"There's that trust issue, again." the man snorted.

"Speaking about trust, where are we?" Robin asked sweetly.

"I get your point. We are about one hour outside Gotham. This is one of my larger bases, and I won't tell you more about it. We'll move to another location when you are completely stable… can you respect that?"

"Yeah. Sure." Robin shrugged. He knew all about secrets that needed to be kept… unfortunately Slade knew about those particular secrets too.

"Good. Now, I just need to change your drip."

"What's in that, anyway?" the teen asked as the man switched bags.

"Nutrients, mostly. It will keep your hunger at bay, but if you want something to eat, tell me. I thought you'd rather keep your… shall we say 'production quantity' as low as possible for a little while, though."

"Got it. Yes." Robin mumbled, embarrassed again. He didn't care if he got hungry, no food would pass his lips until he could go to the bathroom by himself, he vowed. He blinked, and then blinked again. His eyes were starting to feel very heavy for some reason.

"You… you drugged me anyway…" he accused the man above him who had been suspiciously busy with the drip for a while.

"Yes, but you need to sleep." Slade told him. "And if you are going to be too stubborn to do what's best for you…"

"…Bastard…" Robin mumbled. He was almost sure he felt a hand brushing his forehead before he finally fell into a deep sleep. Perhaps he was running a fever again?

* * *

Robin would have wanted to wake up feeling better, but instead it was to an excruciating pain where no such pain should ever exist. He cried out in alarm and agony, and the pain died away to a dull burning.

"I'm sorry, I was hoping to do this while you were still asleep." Slade said above him. "I'm removing the catheter. It shouldn't stay in any longer than absolutely necessary."

"Leave it, I'll learn to live with it, just don't fucking move it anymore!" Robin decided.

"You know I can't do that." the man snorted. "I know this hurts, especially without any anesthetic… maybe I should slap your leg at the same time?"

"Don't you dare!" the teen tried to sit up, which made the catheter move inside his urethra. He hissed and stayed still.

"I was joking." the man told him.

"How the hell was I supposed to know that?" Robin growled.

"Why would I even _do_ such a thing?" the man asked, looking slightly bewildered.

"I don't know, because you're e an asshole?" the teen suggested.

"And suddenly I don't feel too bad about doing this anymore…" Slade smirked and started pulling on the tube again.

"AAARGH! NO!" Robin yelled. "Stop!"

"It has to come out. Take a few deep breaths."

"No, let… let me do it." Robin asked. After a moment it became apparent that he couldn't quite get in a position where he could reach and see what he was doing because of his immobilized legs.

"I have to do it or you'll hurt yourself." Slade told him firmly. "Lie back and think happy thoughts."

"It that what you say to all the people you fondle like this?" Robin snorted.

"Witty, Robin. Not only did you just call me bad in bed, you also called me a slut. Nice."

"I know. I have my moments." the teen smirked. "Ow-ow-ow…"

"Almost done. There." Slade said.

"Thank God it's over… was it a boy or a girl?" the teen added with a tired little snicker. The sedative wasn't quite out of his system yet, but the pain had pushed through it, waking him up early.

Slade gave a chuckle as well and covered the hero up after cleaning him off with a cool, damp piece of washing cloth.

"There. Continue to rest for a while. I'll be back soon. You will need to try to pee as soon as you can."

"_Try_?" Robin asked suspiciously.

"Some might have some difficulty with it, just after the catheter has been removed, and it might also burn."

"Nice. What happened if I can't pee?"

"It goes back in."

"Get me a fucking bedpan."

* * *

It still took half a day and many glasses of water for Robin to be able to produce a little stream. Slade told him that the time it was taking was perfectly normal and he shouldn't panic, but Robin was still almost teary-eyed with worry before it finally happened. When it did he was so happy he forgot to be embarrassed.

* * *

The first couple of days passed in a sort of sludgy haze. Robin was in pain most of the time and was drifting in and out of sleep. He became worried over this until Slade explained to him that it was the fact that he was lying still which made it hard for the body to stay awake. The teen chose to believe the man as Slade had no problem admitting whenever he drugged him. The fever, which had never been very high in the first place, were starting to go away now, making his mind a little clearer. This was unfortunate, as Slade chose that day to walk in with a basin of hot water and a wash-cloth.

"We have to get the worst of the grime off you." he claimed, while Robin was holding on to his blanket. So far, since the catheter, everything had happened under that cover, out of sight of the man, and Robin was happy with that. "Don't be such a baby." the man snorted and yanked the blanket away.

Robin had to admit that the washing itself felt nice. He was rather smelly, after all. He just wished that Slade could have left at least one or two crevices alone.

"Why do you look so mortified? It's a natural response." Slade told him while Robin contemplated ways of committing suicide using the drip-tube.

"Easy for you to say, you're not hard." Robin muttered.

"It's not like you are fully aroused, and, as I said, it's natural." Slade, who wasn't much into any kind of sympathy, said. "It will go down in a moment. I'll continue with your legs now."

Robin sighed despondently and laid back, while Slade changed rags and cleaned his thighs and then feet, which were the parts he could reach because of the plastic-looking casts. Slade had told him that these weren't typical orthopedic casts made from plaster, but a form of plastic containers which held the legs in the right position using air-pillows which could be individually filled to make sure the 'cast' fit. On the positive side, this made it easy to adjust if the leg had been set wrong and also easy to take off, they weren't quite as sturdy, however, and wouldn't hold Robin up by himself.

The teen didn't care about the casts at the moment, though; he was more concerned about the burning in his eyes. He seemed to suddenly be ready to cry at any random time of the day. So far he had been able to hide it from Slade, he thought, but it made him feel so helpless. That feeling was also one of the main reasons for the tears in the first place. That and the pain, and the boredom, and loneliness whenever Slade weren't in the room, paired with how bad he felt about breaking the law in such a dangerous idiotic way.

"You really wanted me to give you a hand-job, didn't you, as you get all teared up about it?" Slade smirked at him.

"Shut up." Robin mumbled and tried to force the wetness back into his tear ducts, something which, of course, was impossible.

"I understand that you are in pain and feel ashamed," Slade said, hitting the nail right on the head as usual, "but I won't have you moping."

"I'm not moping!" Robin objected.

"You are feeling sorry for yourself." Slade snorted. "It's very unattractive."

Robin couldn't help but chuckle a bit at that.

"Sorry. I'll try to be sexier from now on." he snorted.

"That would be appreciated." the man nodded with a little smirk.

"Speaking about that, is there any way to wash my hair?" Robin asked, feeling the greasy, matted locks.

Slade seemed to assess the situation.

"Since there's a drain in the floor, it might be possible… it's not strictly speaking necessary, though, No one dies from greasy hair."

"Also rather hard to look pretty for you with it….?" Robin pointed out. He wasn't as embarrassed about talking like this to Slade anymore; they had both, during the last few days, slipped into a strange form of jargon where sexual innuendoes were very common. Robin still blushed when Slade said something really dirty or in a tone of voice which didn't sound like he was joking. The way the man handled him, however, which was always completely professional, made Robin braver, though.

"Good point. Let me get some more supplies." the man chuckled and left.

* * *

Not long afterwards Robin was moaning in pleasure.

"This is heaven… forget the criminal world, you should be a washer at a hair salon." he mumbled.

"Yes, but only for the glory and prestige." Slade, who was busy massaging Robin's scalp, answered dryly.

Robin chuckled and hummed in contentment. He might be lying slightly uncomfortable with his head hanging down over the back of the bed, but this was still one of the best feelings he had ever experienced.

"We're taking new X-rays this afternoon." the man told him. "If they show that everything has set as I hoped, I'll get you a chair and you can sit up part of the day."

"A wheelchair?" Robin asked hopefully.

"No. I don't want you exploring. I want to know where you are." the man told him with a little grin, but this time Robin was rather sure he wasn't joking. "You should call the Titans before then. I hope you are following the plan?"

"To the letter." Robin said. "According to that I've seen more crap and local museums than I ever wanted." he added dryly.

"I got the travel plan of the internet, it wasn't exactly made to suit you." the man told him. "Where _would _you go?"

"Well… if I needed to think things through… I don't know… open skies, scenic places… the Grand Canyon for one."

"How are you doing with the thinking-part? Figuring things out?" Slade asked carefully.

"… Don't know." Robin squirmed a bit.

"You can talk to me if you want, you know that, don't you?" the question was unusually softly spoken, but slightly guarded. The man clearly didn't want to open up too much either at the moment, if Robin shot him down. The teen heard that, and it made things easier for him, somehow.

"Thanks… it's just… well, my parents… it happened so damn long ago, I should be over it by now! And still, every year…"

"I understand. I've lost people too." the man told him. "Don't even _try_ to get over it. You can't conquer grief by feeling like you should be outgrowing it."

"But if I can't get over it, how-?" Robin asked quietly.

"You can't get over it, or go around it; you need to go through it. Allow yourself to feel it, especially at this time of year… it's not a sign of weakness, Robin. Whoever taught you that was wrong."

"No one taught me that!" Robin snorted.

"Maybe not in words." Slade said calmly.

"Whatever." the teen mumbled, but briefly wondered if he had been taught never to show anything on the outside…? Something else about what Slade had said before now caught his attention, though. "Wait, if I can sit… does that mean I can use the toilet?"

"Yes, although I will have to carry you there." Slade told him, seemingly a bit amused about the change of subject.

"Will you? Carry me?"

"No, I love wiping you and emptying your bedpan. Of course I will." the man chuckled and poured water over Robin's hair to rinse it. "Conditioner?"

"Yes please, Sir." Robin grinned. "Is it true what they say that most male hairdresser's are gay?"

"Are you interested in the full service package?" the man smirked.

"Does it include a massage?" the teen leered.

"Front and back. Oil optional."

"Sounds _exciting_." Robin purred.

"Stop it, or I'll soon experience some natural responses of my own." the man growled, making the Titan burst out laughing.

* * *

Life was slightly more bearable for the teen for the next week. The bruises started to fade and the pain slowly faded to an ever-present throb. He spoke to his friends at least once every other day, glancing at his road-trip instructions when they asked about it, but tried to keep the conversation on them and what was happening in Jump. He texted Bruce and Alfred a few time as well, to let them know that he was all right, but, as he told Slade, Bruce would just get suspicious if he kept calling all the time.

* * *

Robin was in his bed at the moment and really felt like sitting up. He pushed the alarm-button, which had had stopped abusing when Slade told him about the story of the boy who cried bedpan and what might happen to that boy, but no Slade showed up. After a few moments he pushed it again, first in irritation, but, as the time progressed, in worry. Slade always told him when he needed to go out and was never away long. Robin pushed the button again.

"What?" an annoyed voice said from the door and Robin looked up to see a very wet Slade with a towel around his middle.

"Oh… you… you were in the shower?"

"No, I was playing online strip-chess." the man muttered. "What did you want?"

"Sorry, I… I just wanted to get to my chair…" Robin said, feeling a bit embarrassed. On the other hand, a half naked Slade made for a very nice view.

"And that's why you pushed it repeatedly?" the man snorted and walked over to him.

A half naked Slade _up close_, was even better, Robin realized.

"I… you always come right away!" Robin objected.

"I think I have a bit more stamina than that." the man smirked.

"You know what I mean… I thought you finally tired of me and decided to leave." the teen snorted. Slade then lifted him up, blankets and all. The man's skin was damp but warm, and he smelled wonderfully. Robin wound an arm around his neck like he usually did, and inhaled.

"Are you sniffing me?" the man asked amusedly.

"The soap smells good." Robin admitted with a little blush.

"Glad to hear it. Here you go." Slade added and put Robin down in the battered arm-chair which Slade had crammed into a corner. The room was so small that Robin could reach his bedside table from there, which now had a reading lamp added to it, along with newspapers and a few books. The man made sure that his phone and communicator was within reach as well, while the teen stole a few more glances.

"Now may I continue my shower?" Slade asked.

"Yes. You're a lucky bastard who can take them." Robin grinned.

"Just give your legs another week and I might be able to help you take one… Oh, and before I forget, we're leaving this afternoon."

"We are?" Robin asked like it was the best news he had ever heard. Perhaps it was.

"Yes, I have rented a cabin for us. It's in the middle of nowhere. No one will disturb us and there's a lot of fresh air for when you are ready to get back on your feet. The owners even have a small home gym there, whatever they need that for with miles of forest around them, but no matter." Slade had that look on his face he usually got then he thought someone was being silly… which was rather often…

"Sounds great!"

"Might as well warn you, though, there's only one bedroom… but there's a sofa, so we can-"

"No, that's okay!" Robin interrupted and then his cheeks blossomed again. "I mean… it will be weeks… I don't think either you or I want to sleep on a sofa all that time, so… I mean… it's a big bed, right?"

"Yes, it's a double. Well, it's settled then, but you better not snore." the man warned him.

"I don't snore!" Robin objected.

"Great, all snorers says that…" the man complained and then grinned at him. "I'll pack things up and try to find you more clothes… it would have been easier if you were a girl, there's no problem getting a skirt over the casts…"

"I'm_ so_ sorry. I blame my genes every day for my cruel fate." Robin said dryly.

"I'm sure you do." Slade smirked and left.

Robin was a bit too excited to read as he had planned to do. Sharing a bed with Slade… not a bad thing… the last couple of days the old fascination he had always nursed when it came to the man, long before they became so called 'friends', had blossomed into a full, overwhelming crush. A reversed Florence Nightingale syndrome, perhaps, Robin thought, but none the less, the more he had seen of Slade, the more he fell for him. The bastard.

* * *

Said bastard returned a little over an hour later, declaring that it was time to leave. Robin was handed a sweater to put on over his t-shirt and then a black scarf.

"It's that cold out?" the teen asked.

"It's for a blind-fold." the mercenary explained. "I don't want you to know in what area this place is. I'll tell you when you can take it off."

"Okay… but I won't tell you about the dream I had last night." Robin muttered in a fake huff.

"Thank god. Was this one about purple singing turtles as well?"

"You will never know." the teen said ominously.

"Fair enough, as long as you tell me about the wet ones… _those_ I want to hear every detail of… only because they might be medically relevant, of course."

"Of course." Robin grinned.

Slade put all his things in his suitcase and disappeared for a moment, probably to put it in the car, and then it was Robin's turn. The man secured the blindfold over the Titan's eyes even before they left the room, so Robin had no way to even look out the window. After driving for a while, Robin started to get bored.

Just then the communicator rang, however. Robin answered but turned the screen away from his face, as he was wearing a blindfold and that might be just a bit suspicious.

"Robin."

"Hello." Raven's voice greeted him. "Why can't I see you?"

"Ah, I'm on the road, got the earpiece in." Robin explained.

"I see. Everything fine? Where are you?"

"Don't have a clue." Robin chuckled truthfully, hearing Slade shift beside him, probably throwing him an irritated glance. "I probably took a wrong turn somewhere, but I think I'm going in the right direction."

"Why not stop and ask?" the young woman suggested.

"That's for chicks." Robin grinned, and now there was a soft snort from the man, as if Slade had trouble holding a laugh back.

"Careful, bold leader, or I'll redecorate your bedroom." Raven warned him.

"Yeah, yeah, sorry, Rae…" Robin grinned. "It's just that we men are stupid."

"That's more like it." the empath told him.

"How are things at your end? Any trouble?"

"Yes, but it's not too bad. Red X got Beast Boy with one of his sticky X-weapons the other night and Starfire has a weird Tamaranian cold… purple snot shoots out of her ears whenever she sneezes."

"Sounds lovely." Robin deadpanned. "Rather glad I'm missing it, actually… but you are sure she's all right?"

"Yes, yes, she says it's nothing and she's getting better every day now… but we might have to repaint some walls."

"Maybe she should stuff paper napkins in her ears?" Robin suggested, half jokingly.

"She did. They flew out. She's trying earmuffs now, and she's going through ten a day." Raven told him dryly. "Well, I just wanted to know how you are doing… how_ are_ you doing?"

Robin winced. When the guys called it was always "Hey dude, seen something cool?" but Raven always concentrated on the _reason_ for the trip.

"I'm better… I felt sorry for myself, but I'm starting to get over that now." the teen told her. Lying about feelings to Raven was useless.

"Yes, you sound a lot happier; almost like… well… you didn't pick up a hitchhiker, did you?"

"No, mum… I've flirted a lot, though… felt good… I mean, to flirt with someone who doesn't know or care that you are supposed to be a hero."

"Enjoying pretending to be a bad boy, Robin?" the small grin in the girl's voice was obvious. "Well, I'm not about to throw the first stone there… a long as it's all pretend."

"Don't worry about that…" Robin chuckled. "I know what I'm doing…"

The call ended a few moments later.

"So, who are these people you have been flirting with?" Slade asked dryly.

"You. Didn't you notice?" Robin smirked. Saying things like that was so much easier than you couldn't actually see the guy.

"Hmmm… don't play with fire, little bird…" the man warned him, but didn't sound very displeased at all.

"But… it's so_ hot_!" Robin quipped with a grin.

"Funny. You can take off the blindfold now."

"Good, I was getting motion sickness." Robin said gratefully and removed the scarf, blinking against the lights of the oncoming traffic. It was dark, and he had no idea where he was, which wasn't surprising as he had no idea where he had started from either. Gotham was surrounded by suburbs and industrial areas stretching on for miles, forming communities of their own, and Slade's base could have been in any of those places, or, the man might have lied and they were nowhere near Gotham at all.

* * *

Soon enough he saw some road signs which supported the man's claim, however, although they didn't help with the mystery of the location of the base.

The car seemed to be a jeep of some kind, nothing fancy but practical and the sets were comfortable.

They didn't leave the main highway they were on for hours, and Robin was starting to think that they would drive through the night when Slade turned off onto a smaller road. Another turn led to an even smaller one and so on, until they were on something which looked more like a track in the middle of the forest. Spring was well on its way, but between the trees the snow still looked pretty deep in places.

"You've been set up, there_ is_ no cabin…" Robin grinned as the man swirled to avoid driving into a large rock protruding from the gravel.

"It should be right up here…" the man muttered, and then they saw a light. "Good, they are here to meet us with the keys. Stay in the car. If they ask you are my son and we're taking some time off while you are recovering from a car accident."

"I knew you had a father-syndrome…" Robin muttered.

"Not even close." Slade smirked and got out of the car. "Hi there! Mr. and Mrs. Brown? I'm David Hall."

Smiles, keys and instructions were exchanged before their landlords drove away, and Slade could finally carry Robin inside. As the man stepped over the threshold Robin couldn't hold back a chuckle at what the scene must look like.

There were fires in the wood burners both in the small sitting room, kitchen and bedroom, but Robin still shivered after his wait in the car. Slade put him down on the lumpy sofa, and the teen was glad none of them would be forced to sleep on it.

"It's chilly… is there no electrical heating?" Robin asked.

"There is, but the stoves are supposed to be the quickest way to get the cabin warm and the dampness in the air gone, at least that's what the Browns told me. They lit them just before we arrived so it should be warm enough soon."

"Why are they renting it out?" Robin asked curiously. He looked around and, apart from a family photo or so on the walls it looked pretty impersonal.

"It's apparently an investment. They built it and rent it out to cross-country skiers in the winter, and stay here during their summer vacation. They were happy to rent it out now, though, as the skiing season is over, and we'll be out of here before summer really sets in."

Robin looked around again, as he realized that they would spend a little over two and a half months in this place. It was now the middle of March, and according to Slade's schedule, he should be back at the Tower by June seventh, which probably meant that they had to leave a few days prior to that.

"It's a new-build?"

"Yes, but done in an old-fashioned style. Don't worry, though, it has all the modern facilities, so I won't have to carry you to an outhouse in the middle of the night. There's even supposed to be a wood burning sauna here."

"Well, soon you won't have to carry me at all… I think I'm ready for crutches any day now." Robin said decisively.

"After not even two weeks? Not likely. You will wait at least six before you even _try_." the man warned him. "And if you do anything without my consent, I'll tie you to the bed. And not in the fun way."

"There's a fun way? Care to show me?" Robin grinned somewhat naughtily.

Slade muttered something in reply as he went into the kitchen and started to unpack the groceries he had bought. Robin didn't catch everything but he thought he heard something about "… and I haven't even removed the casts yet…"

* * *

They ate a canned soup dinner, which might not have been a big culinary experience, but it was warming and filling. After that Slade brought him on a little tour or the small cabin. After the humble, but nice, sitting room, Robin was surprised to see an ultra modern kitchen and bathroom, but, he figured, guests might appreciate to have those areas a little less rustic. They found the little gym, which didn't consist of much more than a combined leg/arm machine in a room the size of an average walk-in closet. The next room was more promising, as it was the sauna, though it was only big enough for about four people. Next was the bathroom, which had both a large corner tub and a shower-cubicle. Robin looked longingly at both, but Slade didn't want any moisture under the plastic casts, and insisted on the sponge-baths for now.

The bedroom, which wasn't that big to begin with, was dominated by a large double bed, the frame made from peeled logs, making it look absolutely massive.

"Cozy." Robin commented. The wood burner in here had managed to make the room nice and warm by now and the teen yawned.

"It's late, I'll bring in our things and then we'll turn in." Slade said.

* * *

Half an hour later, Robin was dressed in a T-shirt and a pair of oversized sleeping pants. Even though the pants were baggy, they still had to cut up at the legs to pull them on, but, at least, Robin figured, he had something to wear. The clothes and the bedding were slightly chilly despite the warm air, but somehow it all felt very snug and nice. He wanted to curl up under the covers, but, with the clumsy casts, he couldn't, and was forced to stay on his back.

"I wonder why they didn't build bigger to begin with… this could be a place for families to rent." Robin yawned as Slade undressed. He was aware that he was talking about a completely unimportant subject, but chatting with Slade meant he had a reason to watch him undress… and Slade, it appeared, slept in only his underwear.

"This is the first year. They told me they were going to extend out back next year, and put a sofa bed in the living room." The man said as he unbuttoned his shirt.

Robin silently thanked the Browns for not doing that already. If they had, he might have set fire to the damn sofa-bed to get to enjoy this sight.

"Good idea, I think… they should have done it to begin with." the teen lied.

"I got the feeling that they built it only with themselves in mind, and they don't seem to have any children. The building cost probably ran away with them, or the economy got to them, and they realized that they needed to rent it out as much as possible instead of staying here more themselves." the man said as he slid under the covers.

"M-hmm." Robin answered somewhat indifferently, as he had barely listened anyway.

"Good night." Slade then said, flicked off the light and turned his back to Robin.

"What, no snuggling?" the teen mumbled, half hoping Slade wouldn't hear him. The man did though, and turned back. Robin stopped breathing as lips pressed against his cheek and he felt the slight scratch of stubble against his skin.

"Better?" the man asked teasingly. "Good night, Robin." he added again, and rolled over again.

"Night." Robin whispered somewhat wobbly. It wasn't a good night, though, because the teen had a very hard time falling asleep after that.

* * *

There was one major drawback to being in love with Slade, Robin discovered, and that was that the man was a complete and utter jerk.

"It itches, damn it!" the teen growled and scratched on the outside of the casts. "Can't you take them off, just for a bit?" Almost a month had passed since the accident and Robin was not even half way through his healing time.

"It's normal." the man just told him, concentrating of stirring a pot of something or other from a can.

"I don't fucking _care_ if it's normal, I have an itch!" Robin groaned, but only got a knowing smirk over the shoulder from Slade.

"Asshole." the teen muttered.

"Very well, but not until tonight, and then only during the shower." Slade told him.

"Shower? Really?" Robin gaped, all negative thoughts about his love gone in an instant. Slade was a rather wonderful man, really.

"If you stop bothering me this instant, we might also try out the sauna." the man tempted him.

"Shutting up." Robin grinned.

"That's my bird." Slade chuckled and a shiver of pleasure ran up Robin's spine. Loving Slade might not be so bad after all. There had been no more kisses, unfortunately, but Robin had managed to scoot closer to the man in his 'sleep' so that their arms touched… that was about it, and the teen was aware that it was rather pathetic, but he took what he could get.

"Don't get too excited, it all depends on if my supplier has delivered what he promised today." the man said. "I'm going into town after lunch to do the grocery-shopping and see if my parcel has arrived."

"Can I come? I'd rather sit in the car and watch some people then be bored here." Robin said.

"All right, but dress warmly." the man warmed him. "And bring a blanket."

"Yes, mum." Robin sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Last time you complained I took too long in the store and that you were freezing." Slade reminded him.

"Me? Complain? Never!" Robin snorted, but didn't meet Slade's level look.

* * *

The town really wasn't much, just a collection of buildings on the side of the road, but anything was interesting when you were used to the insides of a cabin.

Slade came out from the post office with the mysterious parcel, which was quite big, and left it in the car while he got the groceries. The man wasn't much of a cook, Robin had to admit, but even Slade couldn't be great at everything, he supposed. They mostly had canned food or microwave dinners, with fruits, usually apples, as snacks and sandwiches for breakfast. Robin had vetoed the oatmeal. Despite the short amount spent at the stove, the man still managed to keep Robin on a healthy diet, adapted to the fact that he didn't move much at the moment… Robin was grateful, because home at the Tower he would probably had stuffed his face with pizza and snacks, and three months of that and he might not fit in his tights… that would have been rather embarrassing… Robin pictured himself with a muffin-top and a beer-belly and snorted in amusement.

* * *

He didn't have to wait long until Slade returned. After loading the bags into the back of the jeep, the man sat down behind the wheel and made a little displeased noise.

"First the cashier sneezed at me, then she overcharged me on the frozen dinners and then she tried to flirt with me." he muttered, with the expression Robin had gotten to know as Slade's 'they should know better'-face.

"Aw, poor you." he said and patted the man's thigh. "Let's shop somewhere else from now on." he added in a slightly colder voice and glared at the store in general. "So… what's in the box?"

"You'll see tonight."

"I'm a shut-in! I'll get excited if it's just actually a cardboard box, don't kill me here!" Robin objected. "Tell me what it is!"

"You'll see tonight." Slade repeated smugly.

* * *

"Why are you bringing in the patio-furniture?" Robin asked the man later, as Slade carried an algae-covered, formerly white chair through the room.

"I found it out back. It's plastic. It will make a perfect shower-chair." the man explained. "As soon as I've cleaned it up a bit."

"I'm going to sit and shower?" Robin gaped.

"What did you think? That I was going to hold you?" Slade smirked.

Robin had to admit that something like that _had_ run through his mind; him clinging to Slade's wet, naked body… slippery soap and hot water… Robin blinked and discovered that the man had left the room, and, according to the sound of scrubbing from the shower, it had been a while ago.

* * *

"Place your feet firmly on the floor and keep still now." Slade told him. Robin was sitting on the plastic chair in the shower with a towel over his lap to uphold some sense of decency, though it was rather ridiculous, considering what he had been through with this man. Still, the less naked he could be around the man the better. Well, if Slade wasn't naked as well, of course. On that subject, Robin felt a bit sorry that they had decided to skip trying out the sauna tonight, but he had been too eager for the shower. "Tell me at once if it hurts." the man continued. "Robin? _Robin_?"

"Huh? Yeah. Hurts. Tell you. Check."

"We never_ did_ check for brain damage, did we?" Slade smirked up at him. The man was kneeling in front of the teen, a position which didn't exactly help Robin to keep his mind focused and innocent. Robin just blinked owlishly at him and Slade shook his head and chuckled as he started his task of removing the plastic encasements. As the air was let out of the support, Robin started to feel a little anxious.

"You're sure this is okay, right?"

"Worried now? A little while back you wanted to rip these off no matter what." the mercenary snorted. "Don't worry, as long as you don't put any strain at all on the legs, it should be fine. Here we go."

Robin liked the cool air against the skin as first one and then the other cast was taken off. He didn't feel any pain at all, fortunately, but had to fight an urge to lift and stretch his limbs. Slade reached for the handheld shower head, and soon he was washing the teen's legs very carefully. After drying the skin tenderly the man got to his feet.

"Stay still like that, I'll be right back."

Robin was curious enough not to question him, because he knew that he would finally find out what had been in that box.

"Here they are, let's hope they fit." Slade said and sat down in front of Robin again. After making sure his legs were completely dry, the man fastened another type of casts to the teen's legs, although these were much thinner and lighter.

"Where did you get these from?" Robin asked, fascinated with both the design and the feel of them. They looked like a cross between modern leg braces and shin-pads, but were so thin that they didn't appear, or feel, bulky at all. He could probably even wear normal jeans over them, especially if they were a boot-cut model.

"I have my sources. The others were obtained in a rush, a 'one-size-fits-all', but these were made to your measurements and with your injuries in mind."

"I'm impressed again." Robin grinned.

"Good." Slade smirked.

"I won't get a bill later, will I?" the teen asked suspiciously.

"A very good idea." the man chuckled. "There. Now it's time for these." He said and rolled out a few black plastic bags.

"I _knew_ you were going to kill me and chop me up." Robin sighed.

"I think that if I were going to, the temptation was greater before." Slade grinned evilly, and began to tape a bag around each cast. "There, now you can't get your legs wet." he said, got up, and handed Robin the shower-head. "Enjoy. Call me when you are done."

* * *

"You are done." the man said from the door-opening.

"What, no, not yet!" Robin objected.

"It's been forty minutes, Robin. There will be other showers. Dinner's ready." Slade said and tossed him a towel. "Dry off."

Ten minutes later Robin had dinner dressed in a bathrobe. The shower had felt amazing, but now he was getting tired and kept falling asleep in his ravioli. Before he knew it he woke up in bed, freezing. Later still he woke up from a grunt.

"That's my comforter, Robin." the man told him. The teen just muttered and pulled hard. He was freezing damn it!

"You are burning up." Slade's voice sounded worried, but what he man was saying was nonsense to the teen.

When he woke up next it was light outside, and Slade was holding him up, putting a glass of water to his lips.

"I have some good news." the man said. "This doesn't seem to come from any infection, you just happen to not be immune against cashier-flu. I called the store and it seems to be going around."

"…don't wanna be sick…" Robin mumbled. "…you'll have to take care of me again…"

"Again?" The man smirked. "Did I stop at some point? And don't worry, Robin, I've already seen you at your worst." Right then Robin sneezed. "Seems I was wrong." Slade sighed. "I'll get you a tissue."

* * *

Robin was really sick for days, but managed to call his team to tell them that he was making a little unexpected stop until he felt better, and not to worry. Slade kept him in a continuous supply of paper tissues, chicken soup, and, as Robin's throat started to hurt, ice cream.

* * *

"Happy Birthday." Slade told him one morning.

"It is? Thanks!" Robin grinned. He was feeling a lot better and wasn't bound to the bed any more, other than by his broken legs, of course.

"I'd thought we'd celebrate by buying dinner tonight." the man suggested. "Our options are limited, though… the drive-through hamburger-joint or the Chinese take-away?"

"Chinese. It will taste divine in comparison to canned soup."

"Don't you dare complain about the food, brat." the man chuckled. "How about trying the sauna afterwards?"

"You sure I should? What if I get sick again?" Robin asked. He really wanted to, but couldn't deal with another week in the bed.

"We'll only bring it up to a moderate temperature, and besides, the Finnish have a saying; 'If booze, tar, or the sauna won't help, the illness is fatal.'" Slade grinned.

"Yeah, well, I already know what he booze can do, and I don't even want to_ think_ about what to do with the tar… So I guess sauna it is." Robin grinned. The communicator and phone rang almost at once at that moment, and the teen was busy with other well-wishers for a while.

* * *

Robin was grateful for the heat, because all the normal sweat was masking the nervous kind. Robin knew that it was common to be naked in saunas, but he hadn't dared to even _hope_… It was one hell of a birthday present... He and Slade were sitting on the highest bench, where it was warmest. The man claimed that the room wasn't nearly as hot as it could get, but it was more than warm enough for Robin. As it was a small place, they were pretty close together, although Robin wouldn't mind being closer.

"Let's make things steamier." the man suggested. Before the teen could say or do anything embarrassing, Slade moved down and poured water on the heated stones on top of the stove.

Robin found it hard to keep his eyes off the man and hoped the steam helped hide that fact. His fingers tingled as he looked at the naked body, urging him to touch, just a little… anywhere…

"So…" the man said as he sat down on the wooden bench next to Robin once more. "Eighteen… and unusually quiet."

"Hmm? Oh, oh, yeah… I'm just… thinking…" Robin claimed, and shifted a little, his new casts scraping against the wood.

"I bet you are." the man smirked. "Have you figured out what you want to do with your life yet?"

"I don't think there's a rule that says that you have to do that as you turn eighteen, is there?" Robin grinned weakly.

"No, I suppose not._ I_ still haven't." The man told him with a chuckle.

"No? I thought your life was centered on being a pain in my ass." Robin smirked and then blushed deeply when he realized how much he wanted the man to _be_ just that. Thankfully the heat didn't only hide nervous sweats and glances, but also blushes. The wince, though, Slade must have picked up on.

"That's more like a small goal along the way." the man smirked. "But seriously, Robin… you have your whole life ahead of you… don't be afraid of making mistakes. Don't hold back if there's something you really want, you'll only regret it later if you don't at least try."

So Robin leaned over, grabbed the man's neck, and kissed him.

It didn't quite go the way the teen had hoped.

"Robin!" Slade sounded surprised as he pulled back, maybe even a bit affronted

"Well, you said that if there was something I really wanted…" Robin defended himself.

"I didn't mean this!" the man snorted.

"You… you're not… You're not interested? At all?" the teen asked, trying to keep his voice level.

"I just expected you to have better tastes." the man muttered, making Robin smile a little bit.

"So you're into me, huh?" the birth-day boy grinned.

"You should be screaming in fear and disgust right about now." the man continued to mutter.

"Damn, you must have gone on some _really_ bad dates…" the hero chuckled. "What did you think all the flirting we have been doing was all about?"

"I expected them to be jokes, something to pass the time." Slade told him. "Be very careful what you wish for, Robin."

"I usually am. I'm bored of that." the teen frowned. "I'm used to hold myself back, keep everything inside me, and what did that get me? Swirling down the road, drunk behind the wheel."

"You know there is a middle road here, don't you?" Slade grinned a little.

"As long as it leads to what I want…" Robin whispered and drew closer to the man again He carefully placed a hand on Slade's upper thigh, but then waited for him to make the next move, tilting his head up just a bit as an invitation. After a moment's hesitation, which felt like a year to Robin, Slade accepted it.

Slade's lips first just brushed his and then opened slightly. Robin eagerly opened his own mouth just enough to let his tongue out to taste the man beside him. Slade correctly interpreted this as a request for a deeper kiss and soon Robin wished he never would have to breathe again at all.

He was sitting pretty awkwardly, though, they both were, and for a moment the teen forgot himself and tried to move. A wince was all he showed when the pain shot up his leg, but Slade noticed and drew back.

"Be careful… you can't chase me over the rooftops with a permanent limp."

"Chase you? I thought I got you?" Robin grinned teasingly.

"Maybe just a bit…" the man admitted with a chuckle which sounded more like a little growl. "How about a shower and then bed?"

"Yes, please…" Robin leered.

"Don't get your hopes up, you are still hurt. I'm not doing anything to risk your legs." the man warned him. "Kissing will have to be enough for now."

Slade stood up to prepare to lift Robin up, but the teen had other ideas. He grabbed onto the man's hips and leaned forward.

"You never said that the kissing had to be on the mouth…" he told the man and kissed his lower abdomen.

"You got me there…." the man admitted.

Robin could tell that the man was going to say something else, probably something sensible about moving too fast, or that they should take that shower, and Robin didn't want to hear something sensible right now. It was his birthday, for goodness sake, and all he had gotten this far was sub-par Chinese food. He wanted a treat. His fingers closed around the man's shaft, which was rapidly filling with blood. He gave it a few strokes, which only made it grow faster, and then licked the head. Whatever objections Slade was about to make seemed to have stuck in the man's throat, to Robin's delight. He opened his mouth wider and sucked the tip in, glancing up at the man as he did to see if it seemed like he liked it. He did. Robin had done this before, as he and Speedy had fooled around a bit last year, but it had only gotten as far as sixty-nines. They would probably have gone all the way if an emergency in Steel City hadn't called the Titan's east back from their visit early. Thinking back, it was a strange coincidence, especially as they never did find out who had been behind the robot crime-wave.

Robin preferred to live in the now, however, especially since it was such a nice place to be. Slade's hands were running through his hair, the black tresses heavy from the hot, humid air. The caresses spurred Robin on to slip more of the length down his throat. He knew the trick about swallowing, but would tease the man just a little bit longer. He bobbed his head up and down, using his tongue and teeth to tease the tender area as much as he could, and then, when he knew the man thought he was giving it his all, he took a breath, relaxed his throat, and swallowed the cock whole.

Slade let out a clearly audible gasp of surprise and his hips rocked forwards, Robin would have smirked if he had been able to, as this was the most overwhelming praise he had heard from the man so far. He decided to see if he could get a little more. Grabbing the man's buttocks, Robin urged Slade to move, having him end up fucking his greedily sucking mouth with swift thrusts. Soon enough the man tried to move back, but Robin clutched his ass harder.

"I'm…" Slade tried to warn him, but Robin only hummed encouragingly, making the man tense. Slade came with a grunt, the first load going straight down Robin's throat and the next into his mouth, as the teen pulled back a bit to get to taste his birthday-present properly. As the man took half a step back, the head popped out of the teen's mouth, and one last, weak shot, painted a white stripe across the bridge of his nose.

* * *

Things were a little hazy from that point, until the moment Robin, lying on his back in the bed, arched and came in Slade's mouth with a strangled cry. The teen was sure they had taken a shower, because, as Slade stretched out next to him with a smug smirk on his face, he noticed that they both smelled fresh, but he couldn't really remember it.

"Happy birthday, kid." the man smirked.

"Tell me about it…" Robin smirked back, his chest still heaving as he was trying to catch his breath.

* * *

The days passed, turning into weeks, and spring made it possible for Robin to spend some time outside on the porch. The moments of enjoyment drowned, however, in the building frustration.

"But if you held my legs still-"

"I keep telling you; I won't fuck you until the casts come off… and do you really think this is an appropriate conversation for breakfast?" Slade asked.

"But maybe a pillow-"

"Robin, no. My mouth and fingers will have to be enough for another two weeks."

"I _do_ like you fingers…" Robin reluctantly admitted and gave the man a look.

"Again, we're having breakfast." the man muttered.

"Argh!" Robin exclaimed and stabbed an over-easy egg so that it the sunny side didn't look quite so jolly anymore. "I hate it when you are being all in control! Don't you want it as much as I do, or what?" he growled.

Slade stood up, and for a moment Robin was worried that he had said something to make him really angry or hurt… or worse, that the man was about to tell him that his fears were true and that he _didn't _really want him. The teen's eyes then noticed the tent in the man's sweatpants.

"Oh." he said.

"That's right. I'd like to lift you up off that chair, throw you over the table and fuck you with just that butter as lube, but I'm not. If something would happen, we can't go to a hospital, Robin, and if you need surgery, there might be too long before I can make that happen. Would you really like to be disabled for the rest of your life because you couldn't wait two weeks for a fuck?"

"Well… it is _you_…" Robin grinned, making Slade burst out in a gruff laugh.

"What the hell have I gotten myself into…?" the man muttered. "Will you be alright there for a while? I'd like to go and take care of this before one of us gets cream in his coffee."

Robin's hand shot out and caught the hem of the man's pants before he could move, however.

"I'd like some cream, please…?" the teen snickered and helped himself.

* * *

That day Robin was allowed to start using a pair of crutches Slade had gotten on one of his trips. Robin just hoped he hadn't stolen them from some veteran or little old lady. The teen had a feeling that the crutches were just a way to distract him, but it worked. He was to keep most of his weight on his arms and left leg for starters, as that had been less damaged, and only for short amounts of time, but at least he could now get himself to the bathroom and shower. As the days went by he slowly worked up his stamina and technique and were happily surprised as his legs didn't hurt. His arms, shoulders and back, however, hurt like hell. Slade solved that problem with massages and at least an hour every day in the cabin's little gym. Robin preferred the massages.

* * *

Two weeks later, and Robin had been walking with just one crutch for a few days. He was nervous as Slade removed the casts, and even more as the man beckoned him to stand up. He clutched onto Slade's arm, but, despite his fears, his bones didn't shatter, and he could actually walk.

"No running or jumping around now." the man told him sternly. "We'll add legs to your gym-routine but only light weighs to stretch and activate all your muscle groups again."

"Speaking about stretching and activating…?" Robin grinned.

The man looked lost for a moment but then seemed to roll his single eye and sighed.

"Yes, I'll fuck you. At least it will keep you off your feet for a bit longer."

* * *

True to his word, it wasn't much longer before Robin felt the man push into him for the first time. Slade had stretched him over the weeks, but this was nothing in comparison and Robin felt like he was having some sort of outer body experience of pure bliss. Everything just felt so perfect he thought he could cry.

"Are you okay?" the man asked, and Robin couldn't help but let out a little laugh.

"Better! Much, much, better…"

The man smirked down at him and rolled his hips slowly, burying himself even deeper before pulling back only to push right back in. Robin gasped at the alien sensation, the stretching, the friction and the fullness. Slade had already, quite thoroughly, introduced him to his prostate, and the teen knew that all he needed to do was angle his hips a little bit, for the man's cock to brush it harder, but, for now, he just wanted to enjoy the movement without being completely swept away by it… he wanted it to last.

We can't however, get all we want in life, and that first time didn't last very long for Robin. Fortunately, both he and Slade were ready for a second round in just a few minutes, so the letdown was very temporary. By the third time Robin was pretty sure he would last the whole of five minutes, and he should have if Slade hadn't decided to bite one of his nipples.

* * *

"No running, _walking_. The ground is uneven enough." the man warned him.

They were walking through the forest, and Robin's legs were itching for a run. They felt completely fine now, twelve weeks after the accident, but Slade still made him take it easy… outside the bedroom, at least.

"Yeah, yeah…" the teen muttered. He had learned one thing during this time… well… a few things, but at least one not sex-related, and that was that he could, and should, trust Slade's judgment. Come to think of it, that applied to sex as well.

"Walk backwards for a while. Slowly." the man told him as they got to a small hill, and Robin obeyed. This was an exercise to work his quad muscles and calves, and it also helped with his balance.

"I like it here." Robin let the man know. "If I wasn't such a city-brat, I might buy a place like this someday."

"Well, you said it, not me." the man smirked up at him.

"Oh, shut up. What was it you wanted to show me out here anyway? How to have sex against a tree?"

"You wish. We are here now, turn around."

Robin did and jumped backwards.

"Holy shit!"

Beside the path was a stretch of rocks from an old, collapsed homestead, and below it were hundreds, perhaps thousands of snakes.

"I spotted a few coming out this morning." Slade told him. "They are Garter snakes, coming out of brumation and are now mating. See that clump of snakes over there? The one in the middle is a female."

"And the others are males? Lucky girl." Robin said dryly. After getting over the first shock, he realized that there weren't as many snakes as he first had thought, maybe about one or two hundred, but that was an amazing number anyway. Every inch of the ground seemed to be crawling. "It's amazing… but I'm still rather glad I'm a city-dweller…" Robin grinned.

"Well, at least you didn't shriek and jump into my arms." Slade chuckled.

"Aw, you wanted me to, didn't you? Do you miss carrying me around, Slade?" Robin laughed.

The man just snorted and then successfully changed the subject.

"Speaking about the city, you'll see it soon again. We'll leave on the twenty-fourth."

"Really? Already?" Robin didn't quite know how he felt about that. Sure he missed his old life, but the cabin, and Slade, had somehow come to mean home to him. "But I'm not supposed to be home until the seventh?"

"We'll drive to Jump, and I thought we'd see a few of the sights you were supposed to see along the way... pick up a few souvenirs… take a few pictures, perhaps… sounds good?"

"Can I take one of you naked?" Robin grinned.

"If you can't figure out anything else to get Starfire, then by all means…" the man leered.

"Oh, it would be for _me_. I don't want to fight a freakishly strong alien for the right to your body… I wouldn't want to hurt her." Robin smirked.

"I'm flattered that you _would_ fight." Slade chuckled and then scooped him up. "All the way home, you said?"

"Yes, get me away from those awful scary creatures." Robin whined in a very fake voice.

"Not all snakes are scary… I have a one-eyed one I'd like to show you." the man told him.

"Pffftt… the whole _you_ is a one-eyed snake…" Robin snorted and tapped the string to the man's eye-patch.

"Maybe I should just drop you in among them instead…?" the man muttered, but then apparently decided not to, as he started to carry Robin towards the cabin… and the revelation of that snake.

* * *

After spending the whole day before cleaning up, they left the keys to the cabin to the Browns on the morning of the twenty-fourth of April.

They had only been driving for an hour when Slade pulled over at a car-lot and announced that they were changing to another vehicle. Everything seemed to have been set up beforehand, because waiting for them was a bright yellow Lamborghini Murciélago.

"Wow, we're going in that? It's cool, but is it practical?" Robin gaped.

"Someone once told me he didn't particularly _care_ for my practical side." the man smirked. "Besides, we're travelling light. It's enough."

"Can I drive?" Robin drooled. He wasn't anywhere close as bad as Cyborg when it came to cars, but where there was testosterone, there was usually a soft spot for things with a lot of horse powers, and Robin was no exception.

"No."

"What? Why?"

"Because I'm a mean, horrible man with a control issue." Slade deadpanned. "Of course you can drive. Just not off a cliff, please."

"With this car? Never!" the teen grinned. "Can I drive it now?"

"That's a real no."

"Why?"

"My car, I'll get to drive it first. Now start unloading the old one or I won't let you as much as touch the wheel."

"Bully." Robin muttered but did as he was told.

* * *

They only drove for a few hours every day, stopping often to admire or chuckle at the sights along the road. They didn't follow Slade's plan, of course, since that would take months, but stopped for a day or two at some sights and did buy the gifts the man had talked about. Robin got especially excited about some sort of barbecue spice-blend he thought both Starfire and Cyborg would appreciate.

They spent their nights in everything from luxurious hotels to run-down hostels and their cuisine was equally varied. Slade paid for everything, despite Robin's protests, claiming the teen's cards could be traced, if someone was paranoid enough to do so. Robin then claimed that is someone was, they would find it very weird that, during three months, he hadn't' paid for anything or withdrawn cash even once. Slade just gave him a smirk ad told him it was taken care off.

"I have a feeling I should check my account when I get home…" Robin muttered.

"It's all there." the man promised him. "But I'm thinking of charging you for that shirt last night."

"Then stop buying shirts with real buttons!" the teen suggested.

"I promise. Only snap buttons from now on."

"See if you can have those instead of a fly too." Robin told him.

"Only if you get them down the back of your jeans." Slade countered.

"I'll think about it."

* * *

For some reason Slade had insisted on setting off in the middle of the night on one of the last days on the road. Robin, who hadn't gotten enough sleep by a long shot, were snoozing with his face against the window, when the man shook him awake.

"Take a look."

Robin opened his eyes and, for a moment, he thought he was on a different planet. The sun was just rising over a spectacular landscape, which, at this moment, seemed to be made of bands of gold and copper.

"Wow…" was all Robin could say.

"You said you wanted to go here." Slade smiled.

Robin nodded. He had been at the Grand Canyon before, but never at the crack of dawn. They were completely alone, and, taking a breakfast basket Slade had ordered from the hotel, they started to hike into the amazing environment, hours before any tourists would even dream of arriving. In fact, as they saw the first tour bus they were already on the road again, spending the day taking in as much as possible of the natural wonder.

They had lunch at a tourist-trap of a restaurant, but then explored a bit more. Robin was standing looking out over the amazing canyon, when Slade, behind him, touched his arm and pointed upwards.

"Condors."

And it was. The rare birds were soaring so high up they were merely specks, but Robin felt it was such an honor to see them. He watched them until they disappeared into the haze and then looked down across the void again. It was strange, he thought, that only a few months ago he had felt that the void in his own heart had been just as massive as this one. Now, it seemed, it has shrunk. It was still there, would always be, but now there were a bridge across it at least. He didn't know how big and sturdy that bridge really was, but he _did_ know this; it at least held for one rather large man. And probably for a crazy team of misfits too.

Robin smiled and leaned back against Slade, who leaned down and kissed him on top of his head. That made the teen chuckle and turn around for a real kiss.

"Done bird-watching?" Slade asked him.

"Yeah. You?"

"Never."

* * *

After lunch on June the seventh they arrived at a garage where an exact replica of the car Robin had crashed were waiting for them. They drove one car each out of the town and pulled up at a rest-stop.

Robin had dreaded this moment and didn't quite know what to say. Instead he kissed the man hard, almost clinging to him for a moment before letting go.

"I'll… see you around, right?" he asked carefully.

"You thought you would get rid of me?" Slade smirked. "Go home, Robin, spend time with your friends, go back to that idiotic hero-thing you claim is a calling… I'll be there."

"You better be." the teen muttered.

"And take it easy. It's only natural that you would be a little out of shape after spending months on the road, so make sure they got your back. And-"

Robin grinned as he was sliding in behind the wheel, putting on his mask as Slade's lecture was still going on.

"How about some online strip-chess tonight?" he called out as he started up the car. "I'll see you soon!"

When Robin first spotted the lights of Jump City that evening the smile he had worn since he said goodbye to Slade widened. He let out a chuckle as a yellow flash passed him, a car horn honking, and he raised his hand, even though Slade was already far too far away to see it.

He was home. It had been a crazy journey, even though he had spent most of it being still… he knew, however, that this was only the beginning… Slade and he had a much longer and more exciting expedition to embark upon, and hopefully, it would last for years.

_The End._

* * *

A/N: the other wishes for this story was: Robin is in a car accident on the anniversary of his parent's death, and Slade is the one who rescues him.

About the Finnish saying, I've never heard it before, but happened to stumble over it on Wikipedia.

About Grand Canyon, I realized when I was writing it, that I must love it, because it seems to appear here and there in my writing… the last time in "2060" although I THINK it was just mentioned as a canyon or abyss in Robin's dreams… Hm. Weird. I might need to go to a shrink, but then the rubber duck would come up, and I can't handle that… ;)

About the medical accuracy: don't take notes for class. I tried to look things up, I asked a friend who is a nurse about things, but the time, especially, for healing might vary, + that Robin's injuries would probably be one hell of a lot more serious… he was damn lucky… and… well… I wanted Slade to be able to look after him without including a hospital, and I didn't wanna give the man amazing doctoring or healing skills… this time… -whistles-

A big thank you to everyone on DA who answered my question about how long it would take to cross the US in a car. I thought it would take like weeks… pfft… shows how much I know… anyway a little research on the net and I found a Swedish couple who had taken the three-months road trip Robin had supposedly gone on… I decided not to include anything about it, I decided it would get boring and unnecessarily complicated, but it included week-long stays at some places…

Anyway, sorry about the crazy long-ness of this, I hope I didn't bore you… you can sleep now.


	23. 23 Learning Curve

Thursday 23 December

Merry Christmas **Dante Reves**!

Well, this is a hot little thing… ;)

Pairing: Sladin (with a hint of SpeedX)

Freestanding story

Warning: very AU, but I tried to spice it up with some classics...

Other: No OC's has been used in the making of this story. If there's a name you don't recognize, Wikipedia it. Except for one, where I had to alter the spelling. You'll see. All names have been found on Wikipedia, so if something is wrong, blame them, not me... .;)

**

* * *

**

Learning Curve

Five rather mismatched individuals were walking across the schoolyard of Jump City Central High, heading towards the gymnasium for the first P.E-lesson of the term.

Victor Stone was the largest one of the seniors in stature, but also the oldest, since he had been held back two years due to a horrible accident when he was younger. He now had a prosthetic leg and arm, but no one could tell by the way he moved. Still, due to his high-tech robotic limbs he had been nicknamed 'Cyborg' a name he had decided to take to heart.

Rachel Roth, who preferred to be called Raven, was a reclusive Goth, who, somehow, still was a vital part of the group, as long as they gave her the space she needed. She was strangely good at picking up on what other people was feeling, and could comfort someone with just a fleeting touch of her hand, which was a good thing, since she was not a hugger.

Someone who had a bit of problem with personal space, especially when it came to Raven, was Garfield Logan. He was her complete opposite; a loud, colorful punk, who seemed to change his appearance every week, and now sprouted spiked vibrant green hair. He had been quite wild and unruly as a child, even being nick-named Beast Boy before he was diagnosed with a mild ADHD. He also had another condition which might be more of a disability to him: a huge crush on the Goth. The rest of the group wondered if the feeling might be mutual, not because Raven let anything show, but because her normally black hair had recently gained purple highlights.

Kory Anders was rather new to the country, having moved to the US with her parents from Norway three years ago. The group had taken the vibrant but slightly lost redhead under their wing and patiently tried to answer all her questions about this alien nation. She was a bit trying at times, and was known to eat the strangest things, but she was also a through-and-through good person, who only wanted the ones around her to be happy and did everything in her power to make that happen.

Last, but not least, was Richard Grayson, a seemingly normal teen with naturally black hair and vibrant blue eyes. He was a 'rich kid', an orphan adopted by a millionaire businessman. He preferred not to let that be known, though, and was far from spoiled. He_ was_ quite headstrong, however, and got into trouble now and then, as he took a stand against whatever wrongs he could find, whether it was against bullies, teachers or even the principal.

He went by the nickname of 'Robin', and even most of the adults called him that. The name had originated years ago on a nature-expedition where the teacher had shown her students how a male robin was tirelessly attacking a bunch of red feathers to protect his territory. She had remarked that these little birds were very feisty for their size and someone had joked that they were just like Richard. The name had stuck and, like Cyborg, Robin had made it his own, even going so far as preferring to wear red t-shirt or hoodies whenever possible.

Robin was also openly gay, since it would never occur to him to hide such a fact out of fear. He had not screamed it from the roof-tops either, because he believed that one's sexual orientation was a private matter, but, since teenage boys did talk about girls quite a bit, and Robin always answered direct questions truthfully, it was no secret.

* * *

They were almost at the gym when the school's most famous and perhaps popular couple came out of the building, arms around each other as always. The couple was first noted because they were both male, both redheads and two of the biggest troublemakers the school had ever seen. They weren't mean, any of them, but pranks somehow seemed to get a bit out of hand with these two and they spent more time in the principal's office than in class some days. The summer holidays seemed to have done nothing to pry Roy Harper and Red Ecks apart, and their eyes lit up as they spotted the group, and, especially, Robin.

"Hi kid!" Red grinned, annoyingly since they were the same age. Robin, however, seemed to be one growth-spurt short, so even though he had a nice build he looked somewhat out of scale. "Big surprise this year, Coach Philips had a heart attack during summer! He has retired school PE will never be the same again… thank god."

"How is he?" Robin asked. He, and the rest of the group, tried to feel sorry for their old teacher, but the truth was that the Philips had been… a bit of a jerk, even suggesting that Robin should shower with the girls for being a "nancy". He'd gotten hell over that one, of course.

"Who cares? The fat Nazi-piece of shit is gone!" Roy exclaimed.

"Mmmm, and his replacement ain't bad…" Red added, grinning at his boyfriend. "We wouldn't mind climbing _his _rope, would we?"

"Not at all… You'll _die_, Robin. Wear a jock-strap, that's my advice…" Roy chuckled. "Now, come, love. We have chemistry."

"That we have."

"I mean the class…" the bulkier of the two snorted as they walked away.

"Oh… could we have sex-ed instead?"

"Perhaps just a_ small_ adjustment of the timetable would be acceptable…"

"Besides, they didn't let us into the chemistry-lab at_ all_ last year…"

"You're right… if we're not wanted…"

The redhead's voices died away and the group looked at each other.

"Anyone curious?" Cyborg asked with a grin.

"Hell, yes." Robin chuckled.

"Okay, dude, but no rope climbing in front of us, okay?" Garfield grinned.

"I'll do whatever the coach asks, of course…" Robin said innocently and then leered. "Those guys might be pulling our legs, though… who has ever heard of a hot coach? IN real life, I mean?"

* * *

The blue-eyed teen was soon eating those words. The class had assembled in the gym and their new coach had just walked in from the teacher's dressing-room, creating a wave of gasps.

The guy was huge, well over six feet, and his shoulders almost brushed the doorframe as he walked through. A wide chest and narrow hips created an amazing V-shape Robin swore he would have wet dreams about for years to come. The school's standard grey gym-t-shirt didn't seem to come in a 'herculean-sex-god'-size, and stretched tautly across the pecs and abs. The sweatpants managed to do what no sweatpants in the history of the garment had ever managed to do before; they looked tailored to those long and muscular legs. Robin dared a glance at the juncture of the legs, but, unfortunately, they weren't tight enough to give anything away in that area. He could use his imagination, though, and he planned to.

The man's facial features were equally fascinating. His right eye was covered by an adhesive eye patch, and the other one was a mix of grey and dark blue. His thick hair was a little shaggy and long enough to be worn in a short pony-tail at the base of his neck. It was snow white, as was his short beard, but nothing about him screamed 'old guy'; quite the opposite. Robin thought he looked like a mix of a military man and a classic rock-star, a strange, but not bad, combination. Right then the man started speaking, and his voice, the teen discovered, was an even stronger weapon than his amazing looks, dripping of dark seductive promises… or maybe Robin was just horny.

"Good afternoon, students. I'm Coach Wilson, but according to the school's ideology you may address me by my first name; Slade. I am also told it is customary for the teachers to do the same."

The class glanced at each other. Those were the rules, being on 'first name basis' with the teachers was supposed to create a 'familiar and personal atmosphere', which, as all these plots do, ultimately had the goal to keep kids of drugs. No one, however, had even dreams of calling their former coach by his first name. Except Robin. This guy, however, seemed to ooze another kind of authority; the one you _wanted_ to obey, and more than one student wondered if 'Coach Wilson' wasn't the way to go.

The man started to take attendance and had to call Robin's name twice, before Gar helpfully elbowed the teen's in his side.

"Richard Grayson?"

"Uh? Oh, yeah, sorry, that's me. Call me Robin." the teen said, trying not to let his voice crack.

"Robin, hmm? Like the little bird? Or Robin Hood perhaps? I see. Well, little hero, I'm glad to finally have gotten your attention. Let's move on…"

There were some snickers, but the teen didn't notice. He was just wondering how the hell the man would _not_ have his attention, ever again.

* * *

Funnily enough the lesson _did_ include rope-climbing, which was probably where the redhead had gotten the analogy from. There were several bases set up to 'see what they needed to work on', according to the Coach. Their old Coach had never bothered with this classic exercise, as he felt that running laps was good enough and also gave him time to withdraw for a cigarette or ten.

Robin was in line for the rope at the moment, watching little Mikron O'Jeneus, also called Gizmo, trying to climb it. The kid was a child genius, and had been moved up several classes, something which didn't benefit him when it came to P.E.

"Stop wasting our time and move over." Slade Wilson told the poor kid after his tenth try.

"Hey, Slade, that's not fair! We've never done this before, why don't you just show him how to do it?" Robin objected stepping forwards. The class, as one, froze in the activities they were doing, to curiously see if Robin would survive this enemy as well.

"Feel free to." the man said and gestured to the rope.

"Very well, although I feel that since_ you_ are the coach, it's your_ job_." Robin snorted and grabbed the rope. Not long thereafter he was at the top. On his way down he was calling out his observations to Gizmo. "You can do this with just your arms, but it's heavy. Use your knees and feet instead, the rope is thick, so you can get a lot of support from it. Why don't you try it now?" he suggested as his feet hit the ground. The younger guy did, and actually managed quite well, with some more advice from the teen.

"Good work, both of you. Move along. Next." was all Slade said, as he gestured to the next station.

* * *

As the class ended they were all rather tired, but also carefully optimistic. This session had been a bit of a bore, but the man had promised to teach them self defense as well as let them play dodge ball and other games most of them enjoyed.

"Robin? Stay behind please." Slade's voice rang out.

The teen got a pat on his shoulder from Garfield. "See you in detention, dude…" the green-haired teen grinned.

As his classmates abandoned him, Robin turned towards the Coach.

"Yes, Sir?"

"Slade, remember?" the man smirked. "You are quite a strong-minded young man, aren't you, Robin?"

"I'm sorry, Si- Slade, but I didn't feel that you were treating him right. I-"

The man made a gesture to cut him off.

"That is quite alright, Robin. I have heard of you from the other teachers, about the way you stand up to bullies… It fascinated me, especially once I saw you, and I wanted to see if you would stand up to me. It was all a test, Robin. Congratulations. You passed."

"A… a test? But... Gizmo…?"

"Was in on it. I would never pick on a young child who obviously is trying his best." the man looked slightly affronted at the mere thought.

Robin, however, smiled, glad that the man wasn't as bad as he had appeared.

"That's great… Slade." he added the name with just a hint of a flirty undertone, but the corners of the man's mouth twitched upwards a little.

"Now, would you like to become my assistant for the day and help me pack everything away?" Slade asked.

Robin checked his watch and winced.

"I'm sorry, Slade, I'd love to help, but I'm about to be late for a study-group."

"_You_ need extra tutoring?" the man asked, clearly surprised.

"No, _I_ help _them_." Robin grinned.

"Very well. Run away to your little friends… I'll take advantage of you some other day…" the man smirked in a way which made Robin curse his 'little friends' quite vehemently.

* * *

Robin never thought he would have a crush on a teacher, but, after a month, he had to admit that he had. The strange, slightly dangerous and amazingly thrilling thing, was that Slade seemed interested in return. Everything was completely proper from an outside point of view, but there were small hints, like the way the man spoke to him, the words he used, the gestures… like the lesson they had spent learning about the gymnastic traditions of ancient Greece and Rome, and Slade had told them that the athletes then were competing naked. He had looked at Robin at that moment, the teen was sure of it. He _knew_ he was being 'groomed', felt out, in a way, and he knew he should be crying wolf, but what to do when he really _wanted_ to be gobbled up? It was one of the biggest moral dilemmas he had ever faced. Slade was in the wrong here, clearly, being an adult and in a position of authority, but the teen couldn't _wait_ for the man pounce.

Robin frequently stayed behind now, helping the man to clear up, as gym was the last lesson of the day for his class, giving Slade every opportunity. Because clearing up usually took a while, he often showered alone afterwards and had some rather vivid fantasies about Slade joining him. That never happen, however, and Robin was growing more and more anxious for the man to take things one step further. And then he did.

* * *

They were doing stretches at the end of a lesson, following Slade's now well known instructions. The man did his rounds, correcting stances and suggesting solutions to the ones who had pulled a muscle during class.

"And bend forwards, touch your toes." the man told them, just as he came towards the back of the class where Robin was. The class did as they were told, and no one saw the man's hand caress a certain blue-eyed young man's ass as he passed. Robin almost lost his balance.

* * *

Apart from a shared glance and little smirk, nothing else happened that lesson, but the next one proved much more satisfying.

When they came into the gym, most of the floor was covered by mats. Half the space, however was full of other equipment.

"I apologize, I haven't had time to clear the things from the previous class." the Coach said, gesturing to the clutter. "We will, however, keep to the mats today. This is our first self defense lesson."

There were enthusiastic sounds from the class, and they all gathered around their teacher.

"I will not be teaching you a specific style of martial arts." Slade started to explain. "I will, however, teach you a few tricks that may be used if you should ever find yourself in need of them. I have to stress, though, that if I find that these techniques has been used in a non-threatening situation, the classes are canceled and the one or ones responsible will be on probation, is that clear? You will be allowed to practice under supervision if you wish, and if there's enough interest, I might start an after school class, teaching you more about the different styles. Now, does anyone have any prior experience with self defense?"

A few people, among them Robin, Raven and, surprisingly, Kory, raised their hands. Slade started to divide the class into smaller groups according to their experience. Most of the ones who has raised their hands had tried a semester or two of Karate or Judo. Kory, however, told the class that she had been training Krav Maga in Norway.

"Interesting. I have also some knowledge in that area. Anyone else?"

Robin raised his hand.

"Ah, Robin, I was getting to you. What kind of experiences do you have?"

The way the man said 'experiences' couldn't be quite legal.

"Aikido, Jujutsu, Judo and Tae Kwon Do." the teen replied. "I've also started learning Escrima, Capoeira, Bojutsu, Savate, Kenpo, Muay Thai, Ninjutsu, Jeet Kune Do, Krav Maga and Kobudo. My… father is a martial arts specialist. " he added as an explanation as Slade raised an eyebrow.

"Do you have any official grades or are you home-schooled?" the man asked, not unkindly, however.

"I have the official equivalent of black belts in the first four." Robin answered. "I'm just a beginner in the others."

"I see. In fact I believe I can match your rank, although I would not have been able to do so at your age… your father must be a dedicated man."

"I'm just interesting in martial arts." Robin shrugged with a grin. "I nagged him until he would teach me."

"Hey, guys, why not give us a demonstration?" a classmate, Baran Flinders, suggested, and was soon backed up by the whole class.

"I'm not sure it would be advisable." Slade told them.

"Don't worry, Sir, I'll go easy on you…" Robin grinned. He was not going to miss an opportunity to touch the man for the world.

"Very well… I also promise to be gentle…" the man smirked in that forbidden way.

"Please be, Sir… this will be my first time… for real…" the teen answered back in the same tone. None of his fellow students, not even his friends, picked up on the atmosphere, perhaps because flirting with teachers was something Robin simply didn't _do_.

"How about free-style?" Slade suggested. "That way we are both free to use any techniques we are comfortable with."

"Sounds fine." Robin nodded, hoping Judo would be one of them. Close contact was something he craved at the moment.

"Only mock hits, though, I don't want to be sued." the man smirked.

"I won't tell anyone." Robin promised, giving the man a very telling look.

"Good boy."

* * *

The demonstration-fight started out slowly but gained in speed as they both discovered each other's skill. Robin knew, a few second in, that he had met his match, but his speed and agility still let him get a few hits in. Slade broke off the match after ten minutes, claiming it was time for the other's to try out some moves.

"Thank you for a fine match, Robin, you are clearly very talented." the man bowed shortly to him.

Robin smiled and bowed back.

"I should thank _you_, Master." he said, the title coming naturally to him in this context. "Did you have your basic training in the army? I thought I detected a few hints…"

"You are quite the little detective, aren't you? Yes, in fact I did." the man smiled almost fondly.

"I hope you will teach me more someday." Robin said humbly.

"Gladly. For now, would you like to help me demonstrate a few moves?" the man asked.

Robin just nodded and went to stand next to his coach.

* * *

As the class went on, Slade and Robin demonstrated how to get out of different grips, how to block a knife-attack and various other things. The rape-defense, especially aimed at the women, were slightly embarrassing, however, on several levels.

"As you can see, Robin is completely helpless right now. I'm pinning his arms to the ground and I'm holding him down with my body-weight. Any suggestion about what he should do?" Slade asked the class.

"Spred 'em and enjoy it?" Gizmo snickered, having the class in hysterics.

Robin was on the verge on agreeing, but not Slade, who sat up, withdrawing his lovely body heat, but, at the same time, grinding their crotches harder together.

"Rape is no laughing matter." he said sternly. "Sex should always be one hundred percent consensual. Understood?" he said looking around and then down at Robin, who nodded and smiled a little. "So, what should he do, providing this _is _an unwanted situation for him?"

It wasn't, and the man should be able to sense that by now, Robin realized with a start.

"I dunno… can he like… kick you?" Garfield suggested.

"My legs are pinned too, can't move at all." Robin replied.

"Then… I don't know?" the punk admitted. "Sorry, Robin, you're screwed. No pun intended."

"What he should do, but I won't make him, is scream." Slade told them. "Loudly. Don't stop. One trick is to scream 'fire' as more people will react to that more than the word 'help'. If the attacker lets up, at all, do whatever it takes, kick, bite, scratch. There are no rules when it comes to avoiding rape. Just make sure to run as soon as you can, don't stay, don't continue to attack, if the man lets go; run."

Robin would very much like to scream in the man's presence, but not exactly 'fire'.

The lesson ended soon thereafter, and Robin avoided having his little problem detected by pretending to do concealing stretches until it went away.

"Can you stay behind today and help me clean up all this mess?" Slade asked above him, gesturing to the scattered things from the previous class.

"Sure, I have no plans today." the teen answered, trying to keep a blush of his face.

"Good. I'll start with the carpets."

After a while the man excused himself, and Robin had just finished when he came back.

"Thank you, Robin. I'll see you tomorrow." Slade said. "I'll be in my office if there is anything you want."

Robin blinked as the man turned away and walked out to the office which led to the staff's locker-room and showers. Was that it? Was the man expecting him to make a move? Had he imagined everything?

Feeling desolate he headed to the showers. Five minutes later, with a little smirk on his face, Robin, dressed in only a towel, knocked on Slade's office door.

"Come in." the man inside answered.

"Sorry to disturb you, Slade…" Robin started, his breath hitching as he saw that the man was dressed in only his sweatpants, "but the water in the showers doesn't' seem to work."

"Strange." the man leered and put a large wrench away on a shelf.

"Yeah… very…" the teen grinned.

"I guess you can use my shower." Slade offered. "If you… feel up for it?"

"I _do_." Robin half whispered, half purred, and suddenly he was on top of the desk, being kissed within an inch of his life.

The noise of Slade clearing the desk could be heard even in the gym itself, but, as the school had ended for the day, no one was around to come and investigate.

His towel had fallen off already, and Robin used his feet to push Slade's sweatpants down while he found himself eagerly submitting to the man's kisses, constantly asking for more with his whole body. His legs had now closed around the man's naked hips and he was grinding against the other's hard member.

Slade stood up from his leaning position and reached for a suspiciously conveniently placed bottle of lotion on a close by shelf. He grinned as he drizzled large, white globs onto his first and second fingers.

"No fires anywhere?" he asked,

"None I'd like to scream about…" Robin grinned.

"We'll see about that, I bet…" the man chuckled and stepped back enough to be able to slide his fingers down towards Robin's ass.

The teen jumped at the cold sensation, but then groaned as the first finger slipped inside him. He spread his legs wider, holding them up to let the man have all the access he wanted and needed, not caring how slutty it might look. At that moment he would be very happy to be considered Slade's slut. The man's other hand wrapped around Robin's cock, just as he pushed a second finger in. The teen was afraid that he would come from that alone, but the man was skilled enough to keep him from the brink, even though curling his fingers and pushing up against Robin's prostate was a dangerous move. The teen bucked and moaned at the sensation.

"Mm… yes…. again… please!"

The man obeyed, stretching the entrance as he continued to take Robin to the edge and then retreating.

"Ready for me?" the man asked huskily, and Robin opened his eyes, looking down towards the man's crotch for the first time. What he saw there matched his fantasies very well.

"Y-yes." he gasped. "Slade… please…"

Some more of the lotion made sure the man's cock was slick as well, and then Slade's fingers disappeared only to be immediately replaced by the tip of his shaft. Robin grabbed the edged of the desk on each side and pushed himself against the man, feeling himself spreading open to welcome Slade in. A final push from the man and he was in, having Robin trembling and panting for breath below him.

G… god…" the teen cried as the man relentlessly sank deeper into him. "You… you're _huge_!"

"I hope you like it. You'll be spending lots of time with my cock up your ass or in your mouth from now on…" the man promised.

"Yes… please… love it…" Robin stuttered. "Fuck me, Slade… fuck me hard, Master."

The man didn't need the encouragement but seemed to appreciate it, and soon the desk was banging against the wall hard enough to leave permanent marks. The teen loudly let the man know how much he loved every thrust, every grind and every kiss and bite, but was too overpowered by these new sensations than to do much more than squeeze the man's cock with his ass. It seemed more than enough, however, because they were both rushing towards completion. Robin came first with a loud sob-like cry, followed only moments later by the man, whose seed seemed to fill him up even more, reaching deeper inside than his cock ever could, spreading a warm, full feeling Robin would never forget.

The teen let his legs fall to the side and down, as he felt the man's cock slowly slide out of him. Trying to catch his breath he looked up on the man and grinned slightly.

"This was the best lesson ever."

"It has only started. How about that shower now?"

"Yes, Sir…" Robin grinned.

"Slade, remember?" the man smirked.

Robin smirked back.

"You know?" the teen said. "From now on… I think I'd like to call you Master."

_The End_.

* * *

A/N: The prompt word for this story was: **high school** **PE** and the additional wishes for this story was that Robin/Richard is in high school and Slade/Coach Wilson is the new PE teacher…

It was so much fun writing a high-school-genre-fic… have I done that before, apart from Black Sheep 2? Can't actually remember, I have this vague recollection of a drabble, but I'm not sure if I wrote it or if it was just an idea… well, there was the role-playing in 2060, of course… hmmm…

I loved playing around with all the canon concepts (and fan-fiction canon concepts) in this story… Having Robin say the variation of the classic line at the end made me all giddy, but it might just be fatigue… ;) Hope you enjoyed it! And, remember, I didn't use any OC's (except changing Red X's name to Red Ecks, a name I have been wanting to use for a while), but Wikipedia is great at letting you know peoples aliases… I had no idea about Gizmo, for example…

Anyway, two days left! Tomorrow we celebrate Christmas in Sweden, so merry Christmas to everyone!


	24. 24 Time

Friday 24 December

Merry Christmas **Everwild**!

If this story gets you into the Christmas spirit you are living in a very disturbed family, and I DON'T want to know what you will get for Christmas.

This is SO inappropriate for Christmas Eve, but hey, the order of the stories were decided by the order the wishes came in… and if you think THIS is inappropriate, just wait until tomorrow… ;)

Pairing: Sladin

Warning: **Dark!** No kidding here, I wrote a dark one. Sensitive readers are warned!

Free standing story

**

* * *

**

Time

Robin was seldom scared. His heart could be beating rapidly, yes, pumped up on adrenaline, but he was seldom _scared_. He was now.

"Raven, just stay still. I'll get some help, okay?"

"Robin… careful…" a pale, now almost translucent, hand touched him briefly. It was stained with blood. Raven's blood.

"Always am, Rae." he grinned encouragingly. He had stopped the flow from the gash in the young woman's side for the moment, but she had lost a lot. She needed medical attention, but that would take some time to find now… since Slade and Terra… Robin shook his head, No use in thinking about it. Terra was dead, turned to stone in a last attempt to actually save them all. She had failed. The Titans had escaped, but Slade had, so far, managed to keep a grip on the world with a seemingly endless amount of Slade-bots at hand to do his bidding.

They had just fought a large group of them, and that had split them up. Robin was on his way back to check on his friends, his communicator having being destroyed days ago, and he had found Raven hurt in an alley.

Now he had no time to lose, no time to be careful. He simply ran, swinging across the rooftops when he had to, jumping when he could, to try to find Cyborg. The car was still working, he knew, and, amazingly, most of the Tower was standing. They didn't stay there, of course, as that would make them an easy target for Slade, but there should still be medical supplies there, he figured, and maybe, just maybe, they could find a doctor somewhere too. There were still people around, in hiding, and that meant hope… Robin grabbed hold to that thought as hard as he could.

* * *

He had to return to the ground for a bit as the next two houses were in ruins. He was in the middle of a narrow path between the rubble when suddenly someone stood in his way. His mind, tuned over the last couple of weeks, immediately told him it was an enemy. He let one of his precious bird-a-rangs fly. He only used them in an emergency, as he only had a few left, and now he didn't have time to stop and fight. He didn't even stop to watch the Slade-bot fall, merely swirled to the side and continued.

* * *

Then, suddenly, a sharp pain in his right arm made him cry out and stumble to the ground. He grabbed his arm and found his bird-a-rang buried in the flesh. Since when did the bots throw back? Grinding his teeth he pulled the blade out. He had to hurry, before-

A boot smashed down on his hand, snapping a few bones and making him drop the weapon. Robin gasped in agony but didn't cry out this time.

"You really should be more careful with your little _toys_, Robin… someone could get _hurt_." a voice said, and the boot pressed down harder for a second before disappearing.

"Slade." Robin was on his knees for a second, cradling his hand, and then pushed away from the ground, landing on his feet. "Get. Out. Of. My. Way."

"Why the hurry?" the man was standing just a few feet away, playing with the bird-a-rang, twirling it leisurely between his fingers. "You left a certain someone behind, perhaps?"

Robin drew his bo-staff, his right arm throbbing from the wound, but he couldn't grip anything with his left anymore.

"If you've hurt her…" he growled.

"I don't have to. Her time is already running out… pity… such a pretty girl."

"Move!" the Titan snarled. Slade was blocking the closest route to where Robin was sure the others would be. There were sounds of battle coming from that way, and if he couldn't go forwards he had to go around, loosing much more time, since Slade had destroyed many buildings around here, making it impossible to use the roofs, filling the streets up with rubble. The teen, focused solely on his goal, attacked.

* * *

For a second Robin thought he had managed to get past the man, but then a foot came out of nowhere, hitting his side with a thud. He had reacted just in time to turn with the hit, saving his ribs, but losing his balance in the process. His injured hand shot out automatically to strike the man, and Slade didn't block it. As it hit the man's armored chest the force of the blow was easily shrugged off on Slade's part, but Robin was blinded with pain. Before he had time to withdraw his hand, Slade grabbed the wrist, squeezing it until Robin thought he would break that as well.

"Now when we have established that you are not going to get past me… maybe you are willing to listen to a little… _compromise_?" the man purred.

"I don't have time for any of your games, Slade!" the teen roared. "Let go, or- AAARRRGHH!"

"Or I'll rip your arm off?" the man suggested, having simply twisted it enough to get the boy's attention. "Now will you listen? Or are you going to argue until your friend bleeds out?"

That got Robin's attention more than the pain.

"Spit it out then." he growled. He was on his knees again, his arm twisted upwards behind his back where Slade was standing, putting enough pressure on it so that the teen couldn't get up.

"How about we strike a deal… it's a win-win situation, really… I'll get what I want, and you'll get what you want."

"What do you mean?" Robin hissed between clenched teeth. The pain made spots dance in front of his eyes, but the last thing he wanted to do was to show the man any weakness. Slade knew exactly what kind of pain he was in, but that was enough.

"I'll let you go. You will have a chance to help your friend."

"Why… would you let me go?" the teen snorted. "Do you think I'm stupid?"

"I can always catch you again. You're hurt, Robin. A bird with two broken wings. It will be easy. Actually, a little hunt would be invigorating… I'm quite bored at the moment."

"Go to hell, Slade."

"How original. Well. Would you like to run off, my bird?"

"What do you want in return? I won't be your apprentice, Slade, never!"

"It's not your loyalty I want, but something far more precious."

Robin couldn't think of anything he or the team had that could possibly be considered precious anymore, except for each other. Sure, the T-car, but the teen couldn't imagine why a world ruler would have any need of that.

"What do you need? My help with something? Information? What?" the teen asked. He had to know so he could make his choice.

"What I want… or _need_, as you put it… is your body."

* * *

Robin froze.

"W-what?" he stuttered. The man had bent down behind him, and now the teen felt the cold, sharp blade of his bird-a-rang sliding down his neck teasingly.

"Why? Another body-control suit?" the teen asked.

The man chuckled darkly as he continued to play with the blade, letting it cut in to shred Robin's already tattered top from neck to shoulder, laying the skin bare. The man's gloved fingers traced the skin visible, making the teen shudder.

"No, Robin… what I want your body for is something much simpler, much more natural…" The man ripped the tunic and shirt open even more with a hard, singe tug, and then his hand went down over the teen's chest, fingers circling a nipple. "Something almost… primal…"

* * *

The teen gasped and tried to tear away. Slade, however, still had a secure hold on his wrist, and pinched the exposed nipple with his other hand.

"So you finally understand, Robin? Good, innocent little boy… so… are we going to trade?"

Robin shook his head mutely, not in denial, but in shock. He couldn't believe Slade was demanding_ this_ from him.

"No? Then let us just wait a while. Half an hour should be enough, and then you can walk back to your cooling friend, innocence intact." the man's voice almost sang to him. "It will be worth it, won't it?"

"No! No, it… I… there's no time!" Robin tried to bargain now, desperate for some other solution. "Let me save her and then, afterwards…"

"Tempting, my little bird, but you haven't exactly been true to me in the past, have you? No, I think I'll take what I want from you now, if you agree…"

"But… I need to…" Robin tried again.

"If you are in such a hurry, my young friend, there are ways to cut back on time for what I had in mind… foreplay, preparation… you can choose to decline these… you can be on your way again in… oh, if I don't hold back… ten minutes, perhaps."

Ten minutes. Robin didn't want to waste even that amount of time, but he was out of options. Whatever would happen, whatever pain he had to endure, it would only be for ten minutes. Ten minutes. The clock was ticking.

"O-okay. Ten minutes. Please… hurry." Robin lowered his head, eyes burning of shame behind his mask.

"Such an eager little _bitch_…" the man behind him purred, and then his tights were pulled down. "Spread your knees, Robin." the man told him. "Be a good boy now… there you go… Stay still for me now and I'll use some lube. You may not know this, but trust me, you want me to."

Robin could imagine why this would be and _did_ stay still, his chest hitching on every breath until he felt something cold and big push against his ass and stopped breathing all together.

"Relax, my little bird… maybe you'll enjoy it… although I doubt it…" the man chuckled and, with one hard thrust, buried himself inside the teen.

Robin bit his bottom lip bloody, but didn't scream. This seemed to annoy the man gave him a couple of hard thrusts before pausing with a chuckle.

"Brave bird…"

"Just… hurry." Robin snarled back, trying to support himself on his bleeding arm, while the other was still in the man's hold.

There were no more talking. Slade set a set a pace he wanted, and Robin endured it, feeling like he was being ripped to shreds with every thrust. How long it took the teen couldn't say, five minutes, ten, twenty… the pain made it seem like forever. Suddenly the man stilled, filling him with something which seemed to sear his insides, and then, with a tug almost as painful as the entry, the man withdrew.

"Nice doing business with you Robin… if you ever feel you have the time again…" His arm was let go and the bird-a-rang dropped in front of his face, carelessly, like it really was the toy the man claimed it was.

* * *

Robin didn't know how he made it back onto his feet, but somehow, he did, gripping the throwing-weapon in his right hand. Slade was long gone, and so where the sounds of fighting. He started to walk, limping along the ruins, stumbling to his knees and then climbing up again, continuing on. It took several minutes for him to realize that he was going the wrong way, he was heading back again. He considering turning around when there was a familiar screech from above; Beast Boy. The changing landed and in a moment Cyborg and Starfire appeared as well, the alien having carried the dark-skinned youth.

"Raven… she's hurt… we… got to…" Robin started.

"We… we found her, Robin… she… she passed away." Cyborg said, his voice gruff. Only now did Robin notice the distraught look on his remaining team's faces. Beast Boy was clutching a shoulder, and how he had been able to fly at all was a mystery to the teen.

"No… no… there's… there's still time… there has to be…" he tried, arguing even in the face of death.

At that moment the sound of hundreds of marching metal feet reached them, coming from what seemed like all directions.

"Robin, we have to flee!" Starfire cried. "Take my hand!"

In that moment Robin made up his mind.

"Cyborg is heavy enough for you, and Beast Boy, you're hurt yourself. I know a way out of here, I'll be all right." He straightened up, carefully hiding all his pain behind his leader-mask. "Go! Hurry! Before they see you and you lead them to me!"

They obeyed.

Robin looked down on the bird-a-rang in his hand. It was dirty, covered in his own blood. No matter. He would wash it. In Slade's.

Robin was seldom scared. His heart could be beating rapidly, yes, pumped up on adrenaline, but he was seldom _scared_. He wasn't now.

_The End._

* * *

The prompt for this story was bird-a-rang, and the wishes were for it to be used in "some creepy and/or squicky and/or smexy context". As well as Robin being completely clueless (which I interpreted as him being naïve about Slade's intentions and not… you know.. _stupid_… ;) ) Also the story was to be dark and angsty…. for once I do believe I delivered…. ;)

I'm actually very proud of myself for this story! Why? It's dark, and no real jokes! Yay me! Also Robin never breaks or becomes a real victim in it, at least not in the way I see it… if you compare to the drabble "Christmas Indulgences" (in Delightful Drabbles), for example, which is centered around the same theme, the difference is how Robin handles the whole thing during and afterwards… that drabble left him broken, and this… well, I'm not saying he's in any way FINE, but not about to break down and cry… he's probably dead, though, I don't know. Before anyone asks, no I don't see myself continuing this story, but if you want to do it, fine. Just let me know so I can read it… ;)


	25. 25 User's Manual

**LAST X-MAS DRABBLE e****verybody! But please read the bottom A/N!**

Saturday 25 December

Merry Christmas **Amirrel**!

Well, we'll finish off the Christmas-drabbles with something on the very weird side… -lol- I have a feeling, though, that even if the wisher had known from the start this story would be out on Christmas day, the prompt and pairing still would have been the same… ;)

Universe: 2060 (what if?)

Pairing: You won't believe it until you read it…

Warnings: How to put this? Errr… there's nothing dark here… no icky kinks, depending on what you would have those be, but it's not exactly vanilla…

Genre: fun, and smexy but in a weird way.

**

* * *

**

(Where the Fuck is the) User's Manual?

Okay, lovely readers, this is 2060, but you have to pretend that Robin never heard what he heard and never actually _did_ escape from Slade. Oh, and also assume that anything involving Duncan has not happened yet. Can you do that for me? Great! I knew you could! You are such good sports… let's begin…

"You _said_ I could work on him!"

"I said you could _fix_ him. As a _project_, because you claimed you were bored..._ this_, however-"

William listened to the arguing couple, Robin stomping down the hallway towards the reception, with Slade following close behind. He couldn't help but think about them as a couple, even though he knew they both would object, at least Robin. The fact was, however, that it had been over a year since the young man had woken up and, very quickly, wrapped Slade around his little finger. This statement _Slade _would object to. Possibly with a fatal outcome on Will's part. The assistant, therefore, kept his thoughts to himself, and, in cases like this, his head down.

This wasn't a fight, though. Not a_ real_ one. No, those were _scary_. This was merely a battle of wills, Slade trying to put his foot down, only now realizing that Robin had already cleverly removed the floor.

* * *

William knew what this was all about. Rob the robot. The teen had finally managed to get his hands on him, having nurtured a fascination with the thing from the beginning. He had tried to convince the man that the only way he was going to learn about the new developments in technology was by hands on experience, and the man had finally given in. They had started working on the robot together, and the place had been pretty harmonious for a while. Then Slade had been forced to go away on a business trip that lasted for three weeks, and since he deemed it too dangerous for Robin to come, he had allowed him to continue to work on Rob by himself. Robin had gone slightly overboard.

* * *

Slade had returned home last night, and Robin had apparently only managed to distract him enough to last until now… it was still impressive, William thought, since it was dinner-time now and no-one walking into that apartment should be able to miss the result of the teen's hard work.

"Rob was mainly a household robot, Robin. I agreed we could change his appearance, but not-" the man now started to say in an overly patient voice. William busied himself with some papers when he heard Robin chuckle.

"Well, he can _still_ do chores…"

"William, help me out here." his boss demanded and Will swore quietly under his breath before looking up with a vague smile.

"Well, Sir, I suppose turning the thing into a more human-like android didn't reduce his usefulness?" he said carefully. "I'm sure Robin has learned a lot from it."

"Yeah, I have. I never knew programming could be_ that _interesting." the teen grinned cheekily.

"William, I want you to arrange for a clean-up crew for the apartment, there are parts everywhere." Slade barked at him in retaliation for not taking his side.

"Yes, Sir." the assistant nodded. "Are you on your way to the afternoon meeting down on tenth?"

"Yes. We'll probably have dinner afterwards. Make sure the place is clean until we come back."

"But don't take Rob away!" Robin cut in and looked up at Slade, a mix between a glare and a pleading look on his face. "I haven't even found out if he works yet."

"Leave the thing, then." the man told Will before turning back to Robin. "And if you think that you are going to test run it yourself, it will be back on the scrap heap just as fast as I will have a collar back around your neck."

"Yes, Sir…" Robin muttered. The teen, William had discovered, usually knew when it was best to back down. Usually.

* * *

The elevator closed on the pair and Will took a deep breath before entering the apartment to assess the damage. He sighed. There were spare parts everywhere. Metal, circuits, wiring, plans, notes, tools. Slade should have let Robin use a separate work-room, but William knew the man was skittish about letting the teen loose in the building, especially when he was away.

The blond suddenly froze for a second as he spotted the reason for all this mess standing to the side of the room. Last time he had seen the bot had been about a day ago, and he had assumed it was finished then; a metal body and face, and, as he had told Slade, more human than the old Rob, but he hadn't expected this. Yesterday morning Robin had gotten yet another large parcel delivered, and obviously it had contained… skin.

William walked closer, almost cautiously. The robot, or rather android, was amazingly lifelike. It was somewhat taller than him and had the appearance of some muscles, although the body was still slim, like an athletic mannequin. He saw an instruction on the floor, showing how to pull the skin on, like clothes, and then spotted the heat-gun which had welded the seams together perfectly.

"What kind of upgrades did those two give you? Aside from the obvious..." he whispered to himself.

He reached out and touched the skin, jumping back as a pair of black eyes suddenly snapped open.

"Oh, sorry!" Will squeaked before snorting to himself. It was _meant_ to do that, to show that it was ready to be used.

Used, yes… Androids were not very common, because metal robots could do the chores just as well and were sturdier. Slade supported the research, however, because the techniques developed could be used in many other areas, and, William had recently found out, there was a growing market for them… in a very special field. Since Slade had banned the sexual use of children and young teens, people had found other, legal, ways to compensate. But this couldn't be a…? Could it?

He glanced down and blushed. The android was male, of course, and also anatomically correct. If Robin had built a pleasure-droid, there was no wonder that Slade was upset… actually it was a wonder Robin was even walking, as the man tended to spank him whenever displeased.

"Robin must have done a very good job last night and today, to mellow Slade out like that…" William mumbled to himself and grinned a little. He wasn't jealous of any aspect of their relationship, and had seen more than he ever wanted to of the physical part, but he was, he had to admit, curious. He had had his share of girlfriends, but when Robin had alluded that the board member Duncan was interested in him the other week, he had been… intrigued. Perhaps it was just vanity on his part, or a too-long dry spell since his work with Slade _did _take a lot of his time, but…

William discovered that he had been staring at the thing's groin all this time. After glancing around the empty room he carefully touched the hip. The skin felt real and warm. It was too flawless to be human, and there were only hair on the android's head; dark green locks and perfectly formed black eyebrows with matching lashes.

Many of the androids had strangely colored hair and eyes, William knew. It was partly a fashion statement, partly a security measure; to easily separate them from humans. The color looked good against the pale skin, however, but the eyes were a little scary, the assistant felt.

His fingers slowly traveled closer to where he really wanted to touch. As his fingers fluttered against the skin of the limp member, a soft voice spoke up.

"Activated. Password?"

"Fuck!" William yelled and jumped back again.

"Password accepted. Please choose a program, Sir."

The man shook his head and looked around. He needed to find a way to deactivate Rob before Robin and his boss returned. He did _not_ want to be accused of playing with a sex-doll, especially not a male one.

He saw a handwritten list on the nearby table which looked promising, and picked it up.

"To-" he started to read out loud, but didn't get any further.

"Program two activated. One moment please."

"What? No, wait!" William objected, but should do nothing but stare at the tall robot, as it closed its eyes, and then, after a moment, opened them again and smiled at him.

"Hello there… I'm Rob. What's your name?"

"W-william…" the blond half whispered nervously. The android might look pretty, but _Slade_ had been one of the programmers, and Will was pretty sure Robin had a dark streak too; it might very well be an assassination-tool.

"William… I like that… You look very sexy, William."

_Fucking strange __for an assassin… _Will thought dryly to himself.

"Thanks. Now, turn off."

"Turn off? I have no turn offs regarding you…" the bot smiled after a second or two of processing. "Anything you're up for, I'm willing to do."

"Stop. Deactivate." The assistant desperately tried every word he could think off. "Fuck." he added, presuming the word that activated it might work as an 'off-button' as well.

"Yes, that is my intention." the bot smirked.

"Damn, that smirk looked real…" William muttered.

"I _am_ real… just for you…" Rob said and took a few steps forwards and caught the blond around the waist.

"Listen, Rob, I-mmpff!" William had never expected the machine to actually _kiss_ him. Or to be good at it. Rob didn't taste like a human, there was no personal smells or tastes at all, but his mouth was wet none the less. When he discovered this he was first afraid of a foul taste, like machine oil or something, but whatever was used in these things had no flavor at all.

"You are beautiful, William…" the thing whispered in his ear a moment later.

"Rob, you… please…"

"No need to beg, my love… I'll take care of your every need… feel me… I'm already hard for you."

William stepped back forcefully and stepped back, staring down and discovering that, yes, things looked all the more threatening now. Rob's cock had grown as it hardened and was now glistening, almost dripping with something that seemed to seep out of the very pores of the fake skin, but especially at the tip.

"Lubricant?" William said dumbly.

"For your pleasure, love."

"Wait, are you going to…? No, no, if anything I'll fuck you!" William almost laughed at the ridiculousness of it all. Sure, he might be curious about sex with a male, but only as a top, and he sure as hell wouldn't let a _machine_ deflower him.

Rob seemed to hesitate, and blinked.

"To switch programs, state reset code and program number."

"Err… fuck?" William tried again.

"Code denied. Current program continues." The bot blinked again and then smiled. "Are you as horny as I am?"

The thing sank to its knees in front of him, holding onto his leg with one hand while the other went directly to the zipper of his pants.

Only now did William remember the paper he was clutching in his hand. He hurriedly tried to straighten it out while Rob was working quickly, and had just read the first line again when the android's hand closed around his member.

"Ah!" William exclaimed. He hadn't been touched down there by anyone but himself for a long time, and was quite sensitive.

"You are so beautiful and big." Rob told him adoringly. The bot, William knew, was lying. He had nothing to be ashamed off, but he was averaged-sized. Still… it was kind of nice to be called- the man's thoughts were interrupted as Rob suddenly took his cock into his mouth and started sucking. How the sucking sensation was created, William didn't know, nor did he care. The mouth was hot, soft and wet, and Rob's throat seemed to be able to swallow him whole.

_Of course __he can, why the hell would anyone build in a gag-reflex in a droid, and even less a sex-droid?_ he thought disdainfully. He knew that he should be reading the list, but this just felt soooo good right now.

He dared a glance down and met the black eyes. The expression on the android's face managed to look somewhat smug, but maybe that was his imagination. Suddenly William felt the well known sensation of his toes curling slightly, and he closed his yes, letting his head fall backwards, and- Rob withdrew.

"Hey, no, don't stop!" William whined. He had been too close for it to be pleasant at the moment.

"You want to come while I fuck you." Rob said almost as he was lecturing the human. He then blinked in the way William had now recognized as a move the droid did when it was processing something. Rob was still under construction, William suddenly remembered, and paled. What if the machine had bitten his dick off? Rob was now done with whatever he had done, and had apparently decided on anther path of conversation.

"I'd like to feel your tight ass around my cock. You are so hot. I want you. I will fuck you."

"You need some work on your dialogue skills." William muttered and tried to pull away again. This was apparently not part of the 'program', and Rob wouldn't accept it. Instead Will found his arm caught and he was, gently but firmly, ushered towards the coach. Before he knew it, he had been bent over the arm-rest, and real panic started to set in.

"Oral and digit preparation process engaged." Rob uttered seductively.

"You_ really_ need dialogue-work." Will said and desperately looked at the list again. He read it over and cursed. It wasn't helpful, it was just lines of computer-code.

"No! De-activate! Abort! Stop!" he tried again. "Freeze!" he added for good measure. The droid had, now with a grip around his ankle, kneeled behind him, and- "Oh fucking hell!" It had stuck its tongue up his ass. It didn't feel painful, in fact if felt… rather nice, but this was a lot farther than his heterosexuality, however unsteady, was willing to go. Trying to kick the droid away only increased the firm grip, and trying to crawl over the couch, away from the crazy thing, was just as useless. As he collapsed, half defeated, something fell out of his breast pocket. His cell-phone. His beloved, wonderful cell phone! He picked it up and didn't even hesitate before using it.

"We're in a meeting."

"Robin! Don't hang up! For the love of uuuhhh…." Rob had just stuck a finger up his ass.

"Will? What's going on?" the teen sounded half irritated, half concerned.

"I… just… happened… NNNNGH!" the damn finger _vibrated_.

"Will?"

"Rob… how… oh, _hell_…" His mechanical lover had added another finger. William felt stretched and full, but at least there was no pain, and as the finger inside him curled… "AAAH! Robin! How… how do you turn him off?"

"What? Who?"

"ROB!"

"You… turned Rob on? No pun intended." the teen on the other side of the line snickered.

"Y… yes… yes… yes…"

"I got you the first time."

"Mmm…"

"What program?"

"T-two. Ooohh…" A third finger was added and the digits twisted inside him, vibrating at varying speeds while, it seemed, leaking that lubricant.

"Oh, that's a good one for a beginner, though maybe a little fast. Glad you didn't pick six." Robin sounded amused, and William cursed him under his breath.

"Didn't…_ pick_… Accident…" he growled, as, suddenly the fingers slipped out. "Good, he sto-" William exhaled explosively as the head of the robot's cock pressed into him, also vibrating. "Tell me the word! Now!"

"You sure? Sounds like you're having fun…" the teen chuckled.

"Now!"

"All right… it's 'rubber duck'… I have to go back to the meeting. Tell me everything later, okay? I want to know how the vibrations felt…" Robin hanged up on him at that moment, but William had barely heard him as he had dropped the phone when Rob had started thrusting into him, slowly at first and then faster and harder.

Rubber duck. He knew he should say it, but it just was so damn hard to coordinate that thought with the actual act of speaking. The fact that it felt so good might also have something to do with it.

* * *

"Who was it?" Slade asked as Robin returned to the table. The meeting was in a short recess and the others had left the room to get coffee and snacks.

"Will." the teen said and sat down, checking over his notes.

"Did he have any trouble with the clean-up?" The man had arched an eyebrow, slightly suspicious as his assistant had called his 'trainee' instead of him.

"Hmm? No, not at all." Robin looked at the graphs with unusual interest. "Say, Slade? Let's really celebrate you being back with a long dinner tonight? Maybe a movie if something is showing?"

The man smirked. He had a certain suspicion about what had happened.

"Of course." He nodded benevolently. If his assistant was… busy, he'd rather stay away long enough to let him sort things out… and now he might not hear that soft snort from the man whenever he himself was busy with _Robin_ anymore. "I've been thinking about the Rob-situation… do you think that William might an extra hand?"

Robin grinned at him.

"You know what? I think he does. Let's ask him tomorrow. Oh, and remind me to give him an owner's manual."

"You wrote one?"

"Err… no. Remind me to do that too."

"And maybe," Slade grinned, "we should add some administrating and house-keeping skills to his programming as well."

"Oh,_ that_ kind of extra hand…" Robin chuckled. "Well, okay, I guess we can have Rob do well _at_ a desk as well as on it and under it."

"You are not upset at your toy being taken away?" the man asked dryly.

"Rob? Nah, I never wanted him for myself…" Robin glanced over at the man and leered. "He's much too small for me."

The End.

* * *

A/N: The wished pairing was, (obviously) Rob/William, and the prompt sentence was: "What kind of upgrades did those two give you? Aside from the obvious..."

Some of you don't like sex-toys (for some strange reason) –cough-**yaoigurl12**-among-others-cough- and this might have been the ultimate horror-story for them… ;)

I hoped some liked it, and I'd like to wish you all a **VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!**

The Christmas-drabbles are now over, I hope you found something to love among them, and I hope you liked most of them. I'm not upset if you hated a few, some themes were stranger than others, but I actually found myself loving the strangest the best… at least they were interesting to write!

In the mean time, thank you for all the reviews! I'm sorry I haven't been able to answer them all, but, you know… posting every day… I hope this kind of Christmas-present was fun for you. I can't promise that I'll do this next year, but we'll see…

**Now, then, we DO need a New-Year-fic, don't we?** I've been thinking of contests and other things, but no… what I'll do is a sequel… but you kinda-sorta get to choose of what! Here's the deal; many of the Christmas-drabbles made you wish for me to write more in that universe, so, if that's the case, pick one FREE-STANDING drabble, you want to see continued. If you want to you can tell me why, and even what you would like to see happen in it (although I'm not promising to follow that idea)… I'm not sure what will make me pick the "winning" drabble, but it will probably be the one that has the most votes in about two days or so (I'm giving you some time, since it's Christmas). Below is a list of the freestanding drabbles up for votes… **NOTE**: "**Alien Matchmaker**" is NOT available for votes. Why? Because I've already promised **kitsunechibiko** a sequel as a b-day drabble, so check out "delightful drabbles" on the 16th!

See you soon again, hopefully… ;)

Love

/W

List of free-standing drabbles:

01 Needs and Necessities

06 Growing Closer

07 All I Want for Christmas….

10 Closeted Desires

14 Amusement Park Amusements

15 Dream a Little Dream of Me

16 Cop Killer

18 Two of a Kind

19 I Do

21 Deserving This

22 The Journey

23 Learning Curve

24 Time


	26. Refill? – Cop Killer II  New Year story

AN: Happy New Year! First, as I probably won't be updating in maybe as long as two weeks (gasp!) here's some reading-tips for you!

Four brave souls took me up on the "Slade, why am I in a pink Tutu?"-prompt challenge.

These were **Maudit Maestro** in the story "**Sachay For Me**" link: .net/s/6559576/1/Sachay_For_Me#

**Kiratoya** in "**Slade, why am I wearing a pink tutu?" **Link: .net/s/6589446/1/

**EclipsedDevil13** (On Deviant Art) in "**Robin's pink tutu**" link: .com/#/d35zdwo

**Apprenticex** did an art-contribution on Deviant art called: "**So pretty, witty and Robin**".

.com/#/d360sfx

I'm also very happy about **Kiratoya**'s "Mind Games: .net/s/6587752/1/Mind_Games#

And another 'must read' from **Maudit Maestro** is: "My rules", .net/s/6593843/1/

Now, links, as we know, often doesn't turn up on ff, even though they say that linking to pages within the site will work… well, I might be doing something wrong, just copying the addresses, but, in case they don't show above, below are the links with commas instead of dots. If you want to go to a link, be smart: copy and paste all the links below into Word and choose the search/replace function to turn all commas into dots at once… it's so much easier than having to look through the whole thing and then missing one anyway… damn, I hope THIS works now…. ;) And don't forget to leave reviews/comments! They deserve it for being brave! err... and/or writing Sladin at all... ;)

www,fanfiction,net/s/6559576/1/Sachay_For_Me#

www,fanfiction,net/s/6589446/1/

www,fanfiction,net/s/6587752/1/Mind_Games#

www,fanfiction,net/s/6593843/1/

eclipseddevil13,deviantart,com/#/d35zdwo

apprentice,deviantart,com/#/d360sfx

Now, on to the show! Well, "Cop Killer" won by a land-slide… like 17 votes, where the second, "Learning Curve", got 4… so I didn't even have to make a ruling, which was nice… ;)

Oh, and the reason I (probably) won't be updating is that I have promised to work on a little project outside of the slash-writing universe. Yes. There is such a world. I don't visit often, but now I will… Don't worry, I'll be back soon!

**

* * *

**

Refill? – Cop Killer II

"Coffee?"

The unexpected voice behind him made Nightwing jump. The yelp-like gasp he made added to the embarrassment.

"_Slade_?"

"Who_ else _would offer you coffee on a rooftop in the middle of the night?" the mercenary asked. "Or are you cheating on me?"

Dick, still clutching his chest, shakily reached for the paper cup he was offered.

"Wasn't aware we were an item," he muttered, gulping down a few mouthfuls of the hot black beverage to hide his surprise. His first thought after realizing that Slade was back in Blüdhaven had been 'No! My life doesn't need to be more complicated right now!'. The second had been 'why hasn't he come back sooner?'

* * *

Slade looked down on his not-so-little bird with a grin. It had been almost three months since he had left after the aborted assassination on the hero's alter ego. He hadn't returned by the next flight after all, because he had come to the conclusion that he didn't know what good it would do. He had no real claim to the kid, and, however well they suited each other in bed, he wasn't looking for a relationship. It had been a hard decision to stay away, however, because, when it came down to it, relationship or no relationship, the young man was still _his_.

He briefly considered letting Nightwing know that he knew about his identity, but Slade was again in town on business, and he realized that the former Robin would probably become too rattled and fixated by this information to be of any real help. And Slade, at the moment, needed a hand. In all innocence, with no ulterior motives, of course.

The man chose to ignore Nightwing's item-comment and crunched down next to him.

"So, what are we looking at?" he asked.

* * *

"A house," Dick supplied and glanced at the man next to him. Did he have to get so close? Okay, so there wasn't much space here, but…

"Right. Why?" the mercenary asked calmly.

"I've recently developed an interest in Twentieth Century urban architecture." the vigilante deadpanned.

"…which you study at night?"

"Ever heard of night school?"

"Right. And the real reason?"

Dick sighed.

"You are a mercenary, in town for god knows what reason. Why should I tell you?"

"Just making conversation. Need any help?"

"No."

"Fair enough. I do, though."

"Hire someone."

"The job is yours."

"I didn't apply." Nightwing pointed out dryly. He wouldn't mind spending time with Slade again, not at all, apart from the fact that for every minute they_ did_ spend together, the risk of Slade finding out his identity increased.

"Well. You owe me."

Richard tensed.

"For what?"

"I didn't kill your cop-friend, did I?" Slade shrugged next to him.

The young man relaxed slightly again. Slade didn't know. Good.

"Well, no… but I have a feeling it wasn't out of the goodness of your heart, now was it?"

"Well, no, the hit was called off, but still… I figure you owe me."

"I say you need a calculator," Dick snorted. "So why are you back in town?"

"I just said. I need your help. An easy job, will probably only take a night or two."

"If it's that easy, someone else can do it." Nightwing's eyes never left the house he was watching. He had been tipped off about a drug-deal going down in there tonight, and, since he had nothing better to do, he had decided to take a look. Now he started to wonder where that tip had come from.

"My address. Meet me there tomorrow night," the man next to him said and handed him a note. "Access from the roof. I'll leave the skylight unlocked."

"I haven't said yes." Richard pointed out.

"You know you won't be able to resist."

The hero was about to open his mouth to object when a gunshot and a scream echoed through the night.

"Guess you're leaving?" the man said.

"For once you're right," Dick smirked. "Thanks for the coffee." he added and disappeared into the darkness.

* * *

Slade watched him go and followed at a safe distance, telling himself that he was not checking up on his unaware lover, only making sure that he was fit for the job. He decided that not telling young Richard the truth was the right choice at this point. It would make working together easier and, the icing on the cake; he would get an opportunity to mess with the hero's head.

Slade's smirk under his two-toned cloth-mask just crossed the border to evil, but his single eye glittered with mirth. This might just be fun.

* * *

Richard only hated himself a little as he entered the address in Slade's note the next night.

"Coffee?" came a voice from what Dick identified as the kitchen.

"Thanks. I brought cinnamon-rolls." he answered, dropping a paper bag on a nearby table and vowing to himself to work on dropping silently to the ground. He thought he was good at that, but if Slade had heard him from the other room…

"How nice of you… we can have a little house-warming party." the mercenary smirked as he came out form the other room with two big cups of steaming coffee.

"Looks like you need it." Dick said and looked around. "Not the coziest place, this." The apartment was run down, in a sleazy neighborhood, but, then again, most of Blüdhaven _was_ sleazy. The furniture in the place seemed to have been left by the previous owners, and for good reason.

"Well, I didn't think you'd invite me to yours." Slade shrugged.

"Not likely." _Again… Unfortunately… _Dick added the last part to himself. The man was out of uniform and without his mask. With a start Dick realized that the very tight t-shirt Slade was wearing was his own, the one he had lent him after their somewhat wild night together. The arms had been cut off at one point, but it was defiantly the same one.

"Well, we will have to make do, then. Come, the bedroom is this way." the man said and walked away.

"E-excuse me?"

"Oh. Sorry. It wasn't an invite; I have all the things set up in there." Slade smirked over his shoulder. "I hope you're not too disappointed, Nightwing?"

"Relived actually." Richard snorted in reply.

"Good. I'm seeing someone."

Dick almost dropped his coffee.

"You… err… you what?"

"Is that such a horrible thought?" Slade said raising an eyebrow.

"Yes! No! I mean…so… _really_?"

"Yes. In a way."

"In... a way?"

"It's not really any of your business, is it?" Slade said, not too unkindly. "I don't think you are that interested in my love life. Now, about the assignment-"

"Yes, but… I mean… well, you flirted pretty heavily with me last time…" Dick tried.

"So you _did_ get that? I thought you were a bit slow. Yes, I did, but that was before I met the person in question, so it won't be repeated."

"So… man? Woman? What?" Richard couldn't help it. He_ needed_ to know. Someone just might make his death-list that night, and, for the first time, that list might just not be hypothetical.

* * *

Slade sighed like the young man was being a bother. Internally, though, he was chuckling with glee. Messing with Nightwing was more fun than he could have imagined. Time to put the poor boy at some ease, though, so they could work.

"Man. I met him here the night before I left," he explained so Richard would have close to no doubt about who he meant.

"Oh!" Relief was very obvious on the young man's face, despite his mask. Perhaps it was the way his whole body seemed to relax. "Wait.. .you're in an relationship?"

"More of a one-night-stand I'm hoping will repeat itself," Slade admitted. "He was something special, though… no offence."

* * *

"None taken!" Dick spluttered and felt a stab of jealousy, which was weird, considering that the man he was jealous of was himself. "So… you're… going to look him up?"

"Yes… after the mission. I don't want him involved or to suspect anything."

"Does he seem like the suspicious type?" Dick grinned a little.

"No, he's rather blue-eyed actually," Slade shrugged. "But even the cute ones might have a brain."

Dick opened and closed his mouth a few times. He had never been so insulted in his life. On the other hand, he couldn't really stick up for someone he wasn't supposed to know.

"Oh… one of those? Well, if you met him and got laid on the first night… you got tested, right?" he growled darkly.

"Don't be like that. You'll meet someone too." Slade chuckled in a very demeaning way, according to Dick. "Now… the mission?"

Richard remained quiet while Slade booted up his laptop and spread out a map and a few files and photos on the bed. The bed itself actually seemed new. At least it wasn't falling apart or missing a leg like most of the other furniture. Looking around the room he noticed more maps on the walls, all of different parts of Blüdhaven, and the only window faced a brick wall. The room was therefore not overlooked, and a small electric radiator kept the raw, damp air in the rest of the place at bay somewhat. Still, Dick wished it hadn't been a bedroom.

To say that he had mixed feelings about Slade's statements was like saying that the Statue of Liberty was somewhat on the large side. He was excited, shocked, flattered, insulted, terrified and excited all over again. It was very, very hard to not just come out and say something stupid. Slade could _not_ find out who he was. The whole Bat-family was in danger here. He couldn't trust Slade to keep such a valuable piece of information a secret, no matter_ how_ good the sex was. The man was an assassin, for goodness sake; it was always a bad idea to give those your home address.

* * *

Slade could practically _hear _the young man's torment. It was quite entertaining. The drawback, of course, was that he couldn't very well attempt to seduce Nightwing again, after so completely devoting himself to the 'Richard Grayson'-persona. Slade snorted. He was surprised the young man hadn't called his bluff then and there. The mere thought of him attaching himself to a one night stand in that fashion was ridiculous. Sure, thoughts of that night had rarely left him alone these past months, but that was just because… well, because the unique situation. If he hadn't discovered the young man's identity, he would probably already have forgotten about the cop. The image of a pair of very blue eyes suddenly filled his mind. Probably.

The man shook his head and looked up to see Nightwing eying the bed with a little blush on his cheeks.

_Awww… the kid's too cute…_Slade smirked.

"So…" he started. "If you were in Blüdhaven and had two hundred thousand dollars in your pocket… where would you go?"

"The airport." Nightwing snorted, pretending to look at a map.

"And say that you were a woman… with a gambling problem?" Slade continued.

"A bit of stretch there…"

"Oh, not _that _much, I don't think…?"

* * *

Dick looked up sharply to be met by Slade's grin. It took a bit of self control not to bite the hook, but he managed.

"What kinds of game? Cards? Races? Blood-sports?"

"She's a lady. At least she pretends to be… She enjoys the casino," Slade said, "the higher the stakes the better," he added and handed the young man a photo.

"I see…" Dick said as he studied the image of a typical Hollywood bimbo. Her hair was too blond, boobs too big, lips too fat and nose too small. Nothing about her seemed real, but, on the other hand, she looked exactly like thousands of other women of her type. He already had a few possible addresses in mind, but he wanted more information. "So, tell me the story? Have you been sent to kill her?"

"No, only to retrieve something she stole."

"The money?"

"My client doesn't care about the money, but the woman, his ex wife by the way, also took the liberty of disappearing with most of his family jewelry."

"I can understand how that might be uncomfortable…" Dick snickered.

"Ah, Nightwing… so childish…" Slade tutted with a smirk of his own. "We're talking about another type of stones here, but, if I have been informed correctly, the size might be approximately the same."

"Wow… impressive," Dick whistled under his breath.

"So size _is _important to you?"

"Heel, Deathstroke. You said you wouldn't do that anymore, remember?" the hero snorted.

"I don't think that includes teasing," the man shrugged and smirked. "But to return to the subject…"

"Yes please," Richard muttered.

"I'm here to take back the jewelry, nothing more. He's in a situation where he can't afford his ex to disappear, but apparently his mother has threatened him with a nut-cracker because of the jewels. His words, not mine."

"What if she's already sold them?" Dick said. "There are more pawn-shops than Starbucks around here. Some of them are a combination, actually…"

"She's smart enough to sell them to a real dealer and I don't think she will do that until she needs the cash… so the question is; how fast will she be able to spend the two hundred?"

"In Blüdhaven? We need to hurry," the younger man answered dryly.

"And that's where you come in. I haven't been here long enough to know where to look, and asking around takes time and might just alert her," The mercenary told him.

"You haven't seen her at all?"

"The job would be done if I had," Slade claimed.

Dick crossed his arms and smirked.

"I'm not saying you're doing a bad job, I only meant that it would help to know in what parts she would be more likely to be found."

"Secure, luxury establishments, no dingy places. Invitation only," the man supplied.

"That narrows it down. In fact, I think I know of the perfect place."

"Good. Where?" Slade gestured at the maps.

"Hang on…" Dick frowned. "You say you won't kill her, but how do I know that's true?"

"I was honest about your friend, wasn't I?"

"No, you weren't! I already knew about that… you just confirmed it!"

"And that's not honest?"

"If confessing while being caught with your hands in the cookie-jar is honest…" The hero's voice dripped of sarcasm.

"I'd say it is… and it was quite a cookie jar…" the man added with a content mumble.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, nothing. I did, however, agree to postpone the hit, and I kept my promise, didn't I?"

"Yes," Dick reluctantly agreed.

"There. You owe me."

* * *

The vigilante sighed and lowered his head for a moment, his longish, black, soft hair falling across his face. Slade found his own fingers twitching, He wanted to touch that hair so badly… only to grab it, force the young man's head back, and kiss the kid silly, of course. Then he would push him down on the bed, rip that black and blue uniform off the lean, muscled body and make sure his bird only said yes in the future.

"Okay, let's do it," the object of the man's fantasies suddenly said.

"Hmm?" Slade looked up, in a bit of a daze.

"Let's find her." Nightwing raised an eyebrow. "That's all you want me for, right?"

"Right. So. Suggestions?" Slade thought he composed himself rather well despite everything.

"The Crown. It's a luxury hotel front owned by the Colombo-family branch, but hidden below it is a large casino. If she lives at the hotel she wouldn't have to show her face outside at all." Nightwing pointed it out on the map and Slade frowned thoughtfully.

"It seems to fit her style. I'll scout it out, get the blueprints and we'll meet here tomorrow night."

"Well, if you're planning to get in, think again. You need to know people." the bird of prey snorted.

"Well, luckily… I do," Slade smirked.

* * *

The next day at work was hell for Dick. It was Friday, but, he was very happy to discover, he had the weekend off. It was a rare thing, but very appreciated. The thoughts of Slade were very, very hard to let go of. He had actually made an effort at dating after the man left, simply to, crudely put, flush him out of his system, but it hadn't worked out. At all. The 'girls' at work had tried to put him up with a coffee-shop guy, a very cute one, but also rather effeminate. With Richard's build and authority, it was easy for someone with preconceptions about gay guys to see him as a 'top'. Dick didn't mind topping, but, unfortunately for him, he preferred it the other way around, and sometimes he cursed the day his body had decided to grow. It wasn't easy finding someone he could feel like a natural bottom with, the past was filled of the awkward 'should you or I?'-question at the critical moment. With Slade that question wasn't even thinkable, and, damn it, Dick loved it. And he wanted it again. But he shouldn't. But he wanted to. But it was stupid. But great. But- The hectic day didn't make anything easier, and, with his thoughts preoccupied, Richard had almost left his gun as payment for the doughnut he'd had after lunch… and that was the least of it.

As soon as his shift ended he hurried home, showered, changed and was off again. As he entered Slade's apartment he realized that it was barely dark out.

"I'll order dinner," were the first words out of the merc's mouth as he came out from the bedroom to meet the younger man. "I'm guessing you were in too much of a rush to see me to eat?"

Dick only muttered, since Slade was right, and then agreed to the suggestion of Chinese.

As the food arrived Dick hesitated. Batman never, ever lounged around in his uniform, having dinner and chatting, not even with him. The young man shrugged and plopped down onto a chair. Screw it. He wasn't Batman.

After eating they went over the plans of the hotel. Dick knew it rather well, since he had staked it out a couple of times. It was a bit on the large scale for him to take down by himself, but the main reason why he hadn't tried was that it was rarely any trouble there. Also, having certain people thinking that a place was safe often came in handy when he needed to find them.

* * *

"I know for a fact that she is a resident. I staked out the lobby this morning and caught a glimpse of her. She goes under the name of Miss Diamond. Either she is stupid or thinks she has a sense of humor," Slade told his temporary partner.

"Probably both. Have you ever met the Joker?" Dick muttered.

"Fleetingly. I wouldn't want to catch whatever he has." The man made a mock shudder and smirked. He was very happy about the way it seemed that Nightwing had relaxed around him by now; it gave him a very weird sense of accomplishment.

"So what's the plan?" the hero asked.

Slade paused for a moment. He could practically see the blue eyes glittering curiously at him from behind the mask, and he wanted to rip the damn thing off.

"I'm going under cover as a jewelry-dealer. It's a cover I have used before, so I'm not unknown. If she's smart or starting to get low on cash, she'll bite."

"And what do you need me to do?"

_Undress, stretch out naked on the bed and wait for me here …_ Slade wanted to say, but, of course, he knew better.

"While I'm occupying her, I'd like you to search her room. Here are pictures of the items… wouldn't want you to be better at this than you _want_ to be…" the man added with a chuckle and handed Dick a small pile of polaroids.

"Come on, wouldn't she keep these locked up? Like in the hotel's safe?" the hero said, eyes growing as he looked through the pictures. This was some serious ice.

"Perhaps, although I think she's too suspicious to do that. Anyway, this is why I'd like to approach this from two angles."

"I see… seems very non-violent for a plan of yours, though…" Dick said slowly.

_Really? The last job you know of me doing, ended __with me fucking my target instead of killing him, remember?_ Slade thought dryly. "You are hardly an expert on my methods," he added in the same tone. "As I said, this is simply a retrieval expedition. I'm to aggravate as few people as possible."

"Again; why the hell did they hire _you_?" the young man grinned.

"Just… respect your elders," Slade snorted, while Dick snickered quietly.

* * *

Dick busied himself with throwing away the empty food-containers and cleaning up while Slade changed. It was almost time for the casino to open and them to leave.

It felt strange to do household shores in his uniform, almost kinky, although it was definitely not something which turned Richard on… By experience, however, he knew that there were tastes out there which covered pretty much everything, and probably heroes with dishcloths as well.

Slade finally came back out of the bedroom, the man hadn't closed the door, but Dick had _not _peeked. He turned around to face the man, and then dropped the fork he was holding.

* * *

"Do you think you will be done laughing any time soon?" Slade asked dryly a few minutes later.

"You… you look like the lovechild of Colonel Sanders and a pimp!" Dick almost sobbed.

"It's my disguise. I'm Julian Rich."

"And _you _shouldn't pick on _other's _aliases with one like that…" the young man hiccupped, trying to get himself together. Slade, however,_ did_ look ridiculous. He was wearing a white suit, where the jacket was rather too big for him, hiding his muscular build. He had a glass eye, which was interesting, but the image was somewhat ruined by the little stupid turned up-mustache, which now was added to his goatee. Dick might have been able to see through all that, _maybe_, if it hadn't been for the bling-bling. Slade had diamonds everywhere. His fingers, his tie-pin, cufflinks, even a white cane was dotted with the things. And then there was a straw hat. Where the hell did you even _get_ those nowadays?

"I was planning to ask you how I looked, but I think I've gotten my answer." the man said darkly. "Are you ready to be professional about this?"

"As long as you're not gonna try to sell my ass to someone, sure…" Dick smirked.

"I don't think I'd get any buyers for that scrawny thing," the man snorted but then chuckled. "I'm going to take a cab. You know your part?"

"Yes." Dick tapped a small device in his ear. "If I hear a signal, I'm to clear out. I can speak to your through this sender, but you won't be able to talk back, since you'll be with the target." he continued, brandishing a small communicator in the air before clipping it to his belt. "I'm set… just _one_ more thing?"

"What's that?"

"You only have chickens in your stall, right?"

* * *

Richard had, of course, only joked with Slade when he hda claimed to be interested in architecture, but he had to admit that some parts were more interesting than others. Ledges, for example. He _loved_ ledges. Especially when the architect had been so kind as to make them wide enough to land on, and place them within the reach of the window he wanted to enter through.

He had been forced to stay behind in Slade's flat to borrow the bathroom for a moment, merely to take off his mask and wipe his eyes. The tears of laughter had made his vision blurry. This had given the man a head start, and even before Dick had landed on the roof of the hotel he had gotten the short buzzing signal in his ear that meant that the target was in Slade's sight and therefore not in her room.

He studied the room through the glass carefully, making sure it was empty, and it appeared to be. Opening a window wasn't even a challenge, and Nightwing stepped into the room in mere seconds.

He liked hotel-rooms. They were easy to search. Homes almost always had too much furniture and knick-knacks, which were confusing, but even the more luxurious suites was mostly bare of loose artifacts. If this was because of a general 'less is more' trend, or because even rich people stole like magpies, Dick wasn't sure.

The woman's things seemed to be mostly packed away. Either she hadn't had time to unpack or she planned to leave soon, Dick figured. He was efficient but quick and soon found a locked security box. Unfortunately, once he had gotten it open, having just a bit more trouble with it than the window, it proved empty of valuables. It did contain boxes and small velvet bags, however, which seemed to match the stolen goods.

Then there was a buzz in his ear, the warning that Miss Diamond was on her way. He locked the box and put it back in its place before slipping out of the window just moments before the door handle to the room turned. Dick stayed put and carefully watched the woman hurrying around the room while she was talking on the phone.

"Get a car. No not to the front, out back! I'll be there in a moment."

Dick saw how she quickly packed the few items left out, including the box, and grabbed her bag. As she slammed the door behind her, he made a quick decision.

"Slade, she's leaving through the back. I'm following."

He made his way around the building on the ledge, not even bothered by the ten-storey drop he might take if he slipped. He _was _bothered, though, by the buzzing in his ear. Apparently Slade couldn't talk openly to him, but the man kept sending that annoying signal for some reason. It was probably a warning, Nightwing figured, but it insulted him. Didn't the man think he could look after himself? In the end he had to take the thing out of his ear.

He was fast enough to stand waiting for the woman as she came out the door. Miss Diamond froze for a second and then smiled uncertainly.

"Good evening… are you perhaps Nightwing? I've heard about you." she asked in a very feminine high but soft voice. It trembled a little, telling the hero that she was scared but tried to hide it.

"Yes ma'am." Dick said, as it usually paid to be polite. This wasn't a real criminal, after all, this was a woman who had, most probably, fled a horrible marriage and just taken a little too much along with her. She might be the true victim in all of this, and he wasn't about to make things that much worse for her. She would probably give up the jewelry if he asked. "You have something that doesn't belong to you… an _acquaintance_ of mine is trying to get it back… he's not a nice man, Miss Diamond. I suggest you give the jewelry to me, and I'll let you go."

"I… I knew it… I knew he'd find me…" Her eyes, so weighed down by fake eyelashes that Dick was surprised she could keep them open, were about to overflow with tears. He felt a pang of pity and guilt. Just because you had the money and the low self esteem to let yourself be turned into a plastic doll, didn't mean that you were a monster.

"Just give me the jewelry and you're safe." he said calmingly.

"O… okay…" she stuttered and opened her over-stuffed handbag.

She pulled out a gun.

Dick had no time to react, but was suddenly tackled to the ground, just before he heard a shot go off. Someone swore in his ear, another shot was fired and then a car screeched. Of this Dick saw nothing, since he was face down and covered by something heavy. As he heard someone in high-heeled shoes running, however, he pushed himself up and leapt to his feet.

* * *

Slade swore. Not only was the kid stupid enough to ignore his warning to stay away, he kept _insisting_ on being stupid. He climbed to his feet, uttering more swears under his breath, and looked up just in time to see a dark blue car take off, wheels spinning and screaming. Fortunately his bird hadn't had time to try to intercept the woman again, but had been left behind, half way between Slade and the corner the car now had disappeared around. Slade took a step towards him, intent on shaking some sense into the bird-brain, but then stumbled.

Oh, right. He had been shot. Twice.

* * *

Dick turned to see Slade almost crash into the alley wall. It was such a strange, scary sight, but then he remembered the gunshots and yelled out.

"Slade, are you hurt?"

"No, I'm just_ pretending_, to lure you away from my nest." the man muttered.

"Oh, god, did she shoot you in the head?" Dick gasped and started to peel the overlarge jacket off. Soon he found two red blossoming stains, one at the back of the man's thigh and the other one on his shoulder.

"I'm fine. We need to go after her." Slade growled, trying to lift his arm to push the annoying hero away.

"No we don't." the same annoying hero claimed. "Not right now."

"How did you ever get to be a hero?" Slade muttered. "We need a car and we'll be lucky to find them."

"Nope. Tagged them." the young man grinned. "Tagged her coat, her suitcase and the car. The trackers are so small she probably won't notice them. We can go find them when you've healed. When will that be, by the way?"

"Give me a few hours." Slade growled. Dick had thought on his feet, which was good, but there was no way Slade would praise him after being stupid in the first place.

* * *

"What's _wrong _with you?" Slade growled. They were back in the man's apartment and the mercenary had decided that it was time that the young upstart got a piece of his mind. "I_ told_ you she was armed!"

"Err. No. You didn't." Dick crossed his arms.

"I sent the message by Morse code." the man snorted.

"That was Morse code? My ear was falling off from all the buzzing!"

"Anyway, you knew she was wanted for murder, and-"

"Again, no. You never told me anything like that!" the hero objected. "I thought she was just a dumb blond who had gotten in over her head!"

"So… I didn't tell you that her former three husbands disappeared? That she has licenses for several weapons and that my client, her latest ex, only just managed to get out alive?"

"No. You did not." Nightwing was glaring at the man in a somewhat scary way.

"Oh. Well, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Let that be a lesson to you." The man half shrugged, due to his injured shoulder, and continued undressing. The white suit was more or less ruined and he was going to wash the blood off before changing.

"You're such a jerk," the hero muttered. "So, how are the wounds?"

"It was a small caliber, and both bullets seemed to have gone straight through. I'll be fine in an hour."

"Good. Can I borrow your computer to activate the trackers?"

"Of course. I'll be in the shower. Stay away from the folder named 'porn'."

The chuckles of his bird followed a smirking Slade into the bathroom.

* * *

"They seem to be sitting tight at a place a few blocks from here." Dick let the man know as soon as he came out from the bathroom. He focused on the screen as Slade, unabashed, started to dress behind him. The screen worked very well as a mirror, after all. "So you never said what went wrong? Didn't she like chicken-pimps?"

"What went wrong was that little Black Widow Barbie decided to try to rip off the casino. I knew she liked gambling, but I had no idea she was stupid enough to try something like that… and at a mafia-place, at that. They started suspecting her, and she left after cashing in. As soon as they review the tapes, they will probably come to the same conclusion I did: she used a gadget of some sort to control the Roulette table. Her hand was always reaching into her purse when she won… they will be looking for her, so I'd lay low if I was her."

"She has help, though… the driver of that car for one." Dick pointed out.

"Her personal body guard, Juan. Not a bad guy."

"Not bad as in 'will buy you a round of beer' or not bad as in 'has a nifty way to break people's kneecaps'?" the hero asked.

"Oh, the second one…" Slade said and only winced slightly as he pulled the top of his uniform on. "It's what he does with people's _fingers_, which is impressive, though."

"Maybe you two should get married?" Dick muttered.

"He's banging Barbie." the man let him know.

"Oh. One of _those_." the hero smirked.

Slade chuckled and came up behind him.

"You stayed away from the porn?"

"I was too afraid to even look," Dick grinned and silently wondered if there really _was_ a folder like that on the computer. He had naturally assumed it was a joke, and now beat himself up over not checking.

"Chicken," the man snorted and leaned over to check the screen.

"You should know." Dick gave back and breathed in the scent of the man's body through his nose. "Well, do you need some more time, or should we go?"

"We'll go. I'll heal while we stake out the place."

"Nice multi-tasking ability." Dick nodded and got up.

"Are you sure you want to come? I'm not going to be nice any more… might get messy." Slade confessed.

"That's why I'm going. To make sure it's not. That woman will find herself in jail before the night is out," Dick said and then glanced out of the window, where the sky was beginning to slowly brighten. "Well. Before lunch."

"My client will be irritated. Any questioning will lead back to him," the mercenary frowned.

Dick looked up at him from his chair, and then stood up, because the difference in height were bad enough at it was. He couldn't _believe _he had grown so much and still was half a head shorter than the bastard. Damn his genes.

"I insist." Dick tried his cold don't-fuck-with-me-voice. Slade seemed to be immune. The man had removed the glass eye, the hero noticed, and he was surprised to discover that he preferred him with the eye patch. Without it he was just too damn fucking perfect.

"Well… he _did_ try to haggle…" Slade said thoughtfully after a while.

"See? He's asking for it." Dick smirked.

"We'll see what happens. If there are guns involved, I'm not taking any chances," the man said sternly. "And I expect you to get out of the way. Without me having to push you."

"Oh. Umm. I never thanked you for that, did I?" Richard had the decency to blush a little. The man _had_ actually saved his life after all.

"That's quite alright, just another favor you owe me," the man smirked generously.

"You are going to make me kill someone, aren't you?" Dick mumbled darkly.

"Oh, no. Maybe just make you step aside," the man replied airily.

* * *

They had staked out the house for about an hour, watching two people move around in the apartment the signal from the trackers were coming from. The blinds were down but not closed, so when the shorter one approached the window they could confirm they had the right place.

"And now?" Dick asked.

"We wait." Slade answered.

Soon thereafter the lights were turned off, and half an hour later the man nodded.

"Now."

"Now what?"

"Well… we can do this the easy way or the hard way."

"The easy way, please," Dick snorted. "It's been a long enough day as it is."

"Very well," the man nodded and was suddenly holding a gun. "I'll take care of them."

"Oh, wait, no!" Richard grabbed the man's arm. "What did I tell you?"

"I thought you said the easy way?" the man asked in a mockingly innocent voice.

"Before! I said I planned to have her _arrested_, not taken to the morgue!" he glared at his temporary ally and then sighed. "So, what's the hard way?"

"Sneaking in, of course." Slade shrugged.

"We'll do that one."

"Damn, you're boring." the mercenary smirked at him. "You owe me another one for this. Kitchen window. Let's go."

* * *

They climbed the façade, this one with less lovely ledges, until they reached the window Dick had noticed the body guard smoke a cigarette through earlier. As Slade probably had suspected, it wasn't fully closed, and easy to pry open.

As quietly as two shadows they entered the dark room.

They were the only pair who _was_ being quiet in that apartment, however.

"Oh, no…" Dick groaned. "Slade, we can't… right?"

"Of course we can… it's perfect," the man chuckled and quickly moved towards the bedroom, drawing his gun.

Dick groaned again as Slade kicked the bedroom door in, and slammed his hand down on the light-switch, bathing the room in light, exposing Barbie and GI Joe in a very compromising position.

"So sorry to intrude," the mercenary drawled. "I'm just picking something up… don't let me bother you."

The couple on the bed _did_ look bothered, however. Very bothered.

"Nightwing, could you get in here?" Slade barked.

"Do I_ have_ to?" the hero muttered but did slink in behind the man.

"It would be easier if you searched the room while I make sure these two stay put." the mercenary pointed out.

"Or we could just _ask_ where the jewelry is?" Dick suggested and turned to the woman, trying to mentally shield his fragile gay mind from the scene. "Care to tell us?"

Barbie spat out something ugly.

"Listen lady," Dick started, "I've asked nicely before, but you had to be rude. Well I'm a nice guy, but, as I think I said, my partner isn't. I don't want you two dead, but he does. And I owe him. Give up the glitter and I'll pay him back some other way."

"I like the sound of that…" Slade purred. "Don't make me shoot you."

"Un-under the bed," the bodyguard surprisingly confessed.

"Shut up, you idiot!" Miss Diamond hissed.

"You shut up! That's Deathstroke!" the man growled back.

"Yeah, and don't mind me, I'm just the guy crawling under your bed…" Dick muttered.

"Oh, you're a hero, they are never afraid of heroes…" Slade chuckled smugly.

"Guess I have to try to stop being polite to ladies, then," said hero decided, and finally reached the little safety-box. He opened the lock like he had before, and went through the contents.

"Everything's here, except…" He stood up and leaned over the bed to snatch a diamond chain from the woman's neck. "Thank you, ma'am. Oh, damn, I don't seem to be able to break my habit."

"I'm ashamed of you." Slade deadpanned.

"I know, I know…" Dick shook his head in self disgust. "Wait, I'm just going to let the cops find them tied up in bed together. Naked. Does that give me some evil points?"

"A few." Slade decided. "Depends on _how_ you tie them up."

Nightwing's grin made the couple shudder.

* * *

"That, my dear boy, was pure evil. I'm proud of you." Slade said a bit later, as they stood on a nearby roof-top, watching the police recover the pair. The officers had a very hard time trying to stop laughing.

"Why, thank you, sir," Dick smirked and then yawned, glancing over at the sunrise. It had been a very long day. "I'm dead on my feet," he admitted.

"Well, I didn't plan on keeping you. In fact, I'm going to buy some breakfast and call on a certain someone."

"What,_ now_?" Dick exclaimed. "I… I mean… this early?"

"He strikes me as a morning-person." Slade shrugged. "Goodbye, Nightwing. We'll probably meet again soon."

"Yes, I… right… bye." Dick stuttered and stared despondently across the city towards his apartment. Slade's wasn't far off, and from there the man would probably take a cab. If he would have any chance of beating him there, he would have to run like hell. So he did.

* * *

Dick opened the door on the second ring. His hair was wet from a very quick shower, but he had carefully tied it back. He was still slightly breathless from his run.

"Coffee?" Slade smirked at him, and Dick's first reaction was to punch the man in the face, but that would have been a somewhat strange greeting towards a lover.

"Wilson… you… you're back?"

"Yes… and you're fast." the man's smirk grew.

"Thanks, I- what?"

"You ran half across town and had time to take a shower… I'm impressed."

"I… I just got out of be-" Dick started but then realized his defeat. "How long?" he asked, glaring.

"Since before I returned. Now…" Slade said and stepped closer, his hand snaking towards the nape of Dick's neck, pulling off the elastic hair band, freeing the young man's black, damp locks. "That's better," the man purred. "I brought breakfast but… it can wait."

Dick's heart was beating wildly, and he didn't object as Slade firmly started to guide him towards the bedroom.

"Why… why didn't you _say_ anything?" he stuttered as his knees hit the edge of his bed.

"Because you would be of no use to me if you were this preoccupied. Well. _Almost_ no use," the man let him know and pushed him down.

"But I can't… We can't…" Richard's head was spinning, and mainly with objections.

"Of course we can. But it will go smother if you would shut up." Slade suggested.

"Oh, get off me!" the hero growled and pushed the man away before getting to his feet.

* * *

Slade muttered and rolled over on the bed, watching the young man carefully in case he decided to do something stupid. Well, something _else _stupid, since the first such move was to get off the bed. No, wait… the fourth… or fifth? Slade had lost count.

He _knew_ he shouldn't have said anything… this could have continued happily for _years_ if he had kept his mouth shut, but Nightwing, all breathless and flushed in the door, must have done something to his brain. Maybe the boy wasn't the only one to have a stupid-switch.

"Your secret is safe with me. _All_ your secrets," he said quietly to the pacing figure in front of him.

"Oh. Good. Don't have to kill you then," the man snapped back.

"You considered that?" Slade asked, rather impressed.

"They are my family, Slade," Nightwing growled.

"I know… Richard." the mercenary said in a soothing voice. "Richard… I like that name. I still do prefer 'Robin' but since you're not my little bird anymore…"

Said bird seemed to have calmed down a little. He was running his hand through his hair, though, making Slade want to do the same.

"I want you." The mercenary was surprised at his own words, and Richard too, judging by his disbelieving look.

"That's… blunt." the young man chuckled in a somewhat strangled way.

"No. Saying I want to fuck you so hard that you'll stay fucked, is blunt. But I do want that too." the man smirked.

"I… don't think that's a good idea…" Dick said with something very much like regret in his voice.

"Oh no? And why were you in such a hurry to get here? Why did you open the door?" the man asked, hooking a foot around the standing man's leg and pulling him forward. As Dick stumbled, Slade sat up and trapped the man between his knees, holding on to Richard's hips to keep him still. "If I hadn't told you, what do you think we would be doing right now?" The young man's eyes, flickering to the bed, told Slade everything he needed to know. "That's right. You'd be moaning now instead of complaining," he smirked before turning serious. "But if I hadn't told you… and you'd found out later… wouldn't you feel betrayed?"

* * *

"Yes, but… you _didn't _tell me!" Richard objected. He felt weird standing there, looking down on the man for a change. The way Slade's hands caressed him was almost pleading… well, as pleading as the man could appear.

"And you know the reason why," the man said calmly. "Last time, I didn't know. I only realized the truth after I left."

"It was just a one-night stand," Dick objected. "I, _Richard_, meant nothing to you. You just want to fuck me now because you know I'm Nightwing."

"I think we were _both _pretty clear about the one-night stand part." Slade said. "If anything _you_ were the one deceiving _me_… would you have taken _Wilson_ home… or did you just want to fuck Deathstroke?"

The young man blushed for real this time.

"I… well… a little of both."

"Same here. I want a little of both. I couldn't stop thinking about you, and that's actually how I figured it out." Slade confessed. "I'm not making any promises here, no more than last time. Whenever I'm in town, I'd love to see you. That's it. I can't offer any more than that, and, if you are honest with yourself, I don't think you can either."

Dick blinked.

"You… you're right."

"Of course I am."

"No need to be so smug about it!" Dick snorted.

"My apologies. Let me make it up to you." Slade grinned and pulled him down on the bed again.

"Well… I don't know if you will be able to…" Dick mumbled, still somewhat defiant. Slade had really hit the nail on the head when it came to the reasons for Dick sleeping with him, though, and the hero was feeling just a _little_ bit guilty.

"Just let me try…" Slade suggested and ran his hands up under Dick's top. Since he was supposed to pretend to just have gotten up, the hero had dressed in a baggy t-shirt and sleep-pants. Slade looked strangely hot in light-blue jeans and a simple white shirt. Dick knew for a fact that he looked better without anything on, however, and started to unbutton the man's shirt just as soon as Slade had gotten his own tee off.

"Care to tell me why you are grinning like a maniac?" Slade asked after a moment, as he found himself on his back, Richard straddling him while exploring his chest.

"It's light."

"Yes, that's called the _sun_." Slade drawled. "Are you usually this easily entertained?"

"Idiot." Dick smirked and bent down to bite one of Slade's nipples. "I mean that, last time, I was so nervous and damn grateful that it was dark so you wouldn't recognize me. Now… I can take my time, study every part of you…"

"Do that. There will be a test later," Slade smirked.

"Written or practical?" Dick grinned and moved down the man's body until he was straddling his knees instead. He had been kissing the exposed skin all the way, and now, reaching the jeans, Dick ran his tongue up the zipper and then bit down on the button, tugging at it with a playful growl.

"Practical… and I have a feeling you will pass with flying colors…" the man hummed. "Need any help with that?"

"Oh, I'm going to take my time…" that somewhat evil smirk was back again. "Unless… you have a flight to catch?" the grin was replaced by something a little bit more vulnerable and guarded.

"Don't worry. I don't. I planned to leave on Sunday night, so I'll have plenty of time to make sure you can't use your desk-chair at all next week."

"God, I _love_ free weekends." Dick chuckled and went back to working on the man's trousers.

Because of his own impatience, it didn't take too much longer for him to undo the button and pull the zipper down, using only his teeth for both.

"Commando?" he grinned at the discovery.

"Well, I had to hurry to get breakfast…" Slade smirked. "Besides," the man raised a leg to grind it softly against the young man's crotch, "you are too."

"Who… ohh…wears underwear with pajama-pants?" Dick gasped and bucked into the very nice friction. He remembered what he was about to do after a moment, however, and reluctantly moved backwards to tug the man's jeans completely off. He sat back and just watched.

"It's not wearing a 'don't touch' sign," Slade pointed out after a few seconds.

"Shut up, I'm cursing your genes," Dick grinned. "I used to blame mine, but yours are just… too much. How am I supposed to compete with that?"

"You're not, you're supposed to be grateful for what you got… and especially for what I'll give you." the man chuckled.

"You are so full of yourself," Dick grinned. "It's time you'd share…" he added and leaned forwards to just barely brush his lips against the head of the man's cock.

"Of course. Please have some more," the man muttered, clearly a bit agitated by the teasing.

"Oh, I don't know… I don't want to overdo it…" Dick grinned, but then lapped once at the head.

"And why do I deserve to be tortured?" the man growled.

"Oh, come off it, you love it, or you would have flipped me over by now," Dick snorted. "But fine, you big crybaby…" he sucked the whole head into his mouth, swirling his tongue around it and savoring the very unique taste. He couldn't sink too far down the shaft without choking, but he used his hands, lips and tongue all over the rigid member in such a way that Slade didn't seem to mind at all.

"Watch it, or…" Slade warned him.

Dick let the head of the cock go with a lewd pop.

"We have time, don't we? I want you to come in my mouth, Slade… I want to swallow you, taste you… come."

"Damn… kid…" The man grunted and arched. Richard barely had time to suck the cock back in his mouth before Slade's seed filled it. He swallowed, as promised, every shot, and then carefully licked the now even more sensitive head clean.

The young man crawled up and shared a kiss with the mercenary, the first one since their previous encounter

"I'm so close myself…" he whispered as he stretched out next to the larger man. "Don't even move, or I'll come…" he added with a low chuckle.

"Would be a waste, now, wouldn't it?" Slade chuckled back. "And ruin such a nice pair of pajamas."

"Maybe… you'd better take them off?" Dick suggested.

"Exactly what I had planned." Slade, not acting like he had come just a few moments ago, rolled over on his knees and quickly pulled the hero's last piece of clothing off. Now it was his turn to sit back and admire the sight before him.

"I don't know what you're complaining about, you're absolutely perfect…" he mumbled, while tracing the young man's abs with a finger. The hero's cock twitched in anticipation, and the man could see that he was very close indeed.

Dick, lost for words and trying to fight the climax, pulled the man down for another kiss. When the danger of immediate orgasm had abated just a bit, he dared to move against the man's body again. Slade, however, had already recovered by then.

"Did the dirty little hero make sure he has any lube at home?" the mercenary grinned down at him and reached for the same drawer as he had once before.

"Had to… buy… more." Dick admitted. "Please hurry?"

"No." Slade just said simply and coated his fingers with the gel-like substance. He smirked as Dick parted his legs in anticipation. "Actually… yes… You know what I'm going to do?"

"W-what?" the younger man asked nervously.

"You'll find out…" the man leered and slipped a finger inside the squirming hero.

* * *

Dick was too busy enjoying being stretched to have any energy to worry about the man's strange threat. He remembered that he had asked himself last time, if he would be able to let himself go if the man had known his identity, but he found that he was even more relaxed now. Slade knowing was still a bad thing, but Dick couldn't do anything about it and he _did_ trust the man's word, strangely enough.

He moaned in appreciation as Slade's fingers stretched him to his limit, before withdrawing. His heart sped up just a smidge as the man got ready to enter him, because, surly, this time he'd split open from the girth? But no, when the man pushed inside, Dick's body gave in and swallowed him up in a way which made the young man cry out in bliss. He was so full, so perfect, so very close to-

A brush against his prostate was all it took. Dick gasped and almost sobbed when the sudden, orgasm ripped through him, much too soon.

"I… I'm sorry…" he breathed.

"No matter… it's all according to plan…" the man above him purred evilly.

"Huh?" was all the cop could think of saying.

"I'm going to keep fucking you until you come again," the man revealed.

"But… that can take… time…" Dick objected weakly.

"Oh, you'll take it… you have no choice." the man smirked and moved his hips.

Dick groaned. After his orgasm, his inner muscles first clamped down and then tried to dispel the large intrusion, but Slade didn't let himself be moved an inch. The hero's cock, balls and prostate were screaming from sensitivity, the pressure inside him never even faltering like it usually did. Dick whimpered and clutched the man's shoulders as Slade started moving the moment the younger man's body stopped milking him.

The man's pace alternated from fast and hard to slow and gentle. At first, Richard could only gasp and moan, writhe and curse, as his body was assaulted too much too soon, almost bordering on pain. Soon enough, though, he felt himself starting to get hard again, almost against his will. Slade felt it too and increased his thrusts until the bed was crashing against the wall and Dick's neighbors _definitely_ had been well and truly woken up.

"Slade, Slade, Slade!" Richard chanted mindlessly, wrapping his legs around the man and moving against him, all the discomfort forgotten for the rising pleasure roaring through him. "Yes, god! Yes!" he cried as the man only, somehow, fucked him deeper and faster. There was no holding back after that, and as the man's member swelled and filled him with its hot seed, the hero succumbed to one of the most earth-shattering orgasms of his life.

He made a sound like a quiet mewl as the man's softening cock left his body and Slade rolled off to rest next to him.

"I... think… you… killed… me…" Dick gasped.

"Then I guess I'm going to be a necrophile rather soon," the man muttered.

"Not_ too_ soon… or you're_ really_ gonna kill me," Dick chuckled.

"I wasn't kidding about that chair," Slade reminded him.

"I didn't think you were," Dick sighed.

"Well, rest that pretty ass of yours for a moment," the man smirked and rolled out of bed. "I'll be back soon enough."

* * *

Richard did stay in bed, listening to Slade moving around in the apartment, the shower turning on for a moment and the kitchen being ransacked. He sighed again, out of pure contentment this time. Sure, he had screwed up big time. He should never have played this stupid game with the man; he should just have stayed the hell away. Damn temptations. Damn perfect huge-cocked beast of a criminal. Damn- the man in question just appeared in the doorway, holding the paper bag and two mugs.

"Coffee?"

Dick burst out in a short laugh. Yeah. He'd have anything the man offered. And refills too.

_The End_

* * *

A/N: Well, happy New Year again! I hope you won't miss me terribly for my short vacation, and I WILL continue to write during it… I MIGHT even update, I just want to take the pressure off for a bit, you know? Black Sheep 3 is coming along, despite my every effort of stalling, and it will be the next chaptered story I publish.

Some notes about a few lines:

If you didn't get the "You only have chickens in your stall, right?"-comment: "chickens" like "twinks" is a slang-word for young- or young looking, gay males… you get it now? Colonel Saunders? Pimp? Chickens? Well, screw you, _I_ thought it was funny… ;)

About another line in this: a Swedish stand-up comedian claimed that one of his favorite lines form a gay porno-movie was "I'm gonna fuck you til you stay fucked". I used that here in a slightly different way, and I think I have before, because I faintly remember writing a similar disclaimer to this… ;) His other favorite line was "Shut up and suck"… both Oscar-material, right? ;)


End file.
